Where life leads me
by MyWorldDoesn'tEnd
Summary: I just drove past the 'Welcome to La Push' sign and my nerves are screaming "turn around!" I haven't been home in over three years, I haven't even called. As far as my family knows I ran away just before my 16th birthday because my boyfriend was killed in a car crash. They probably think I'm dead... My name is Ava Clearwater by the way, and I'm going home.
1. Home sweet home

Chapter 1

I just drove past the 'Welcome to La Push' sign and my nerves are screaming "turn around!" I haven't been home in over three years; I haven't even called. As far as my family knows I ran away just before my sixteenth birthday because my boyfriend was killed in a car crash. They probably think I'm dead too…

La Push hasn't changed at all since I last saw it, and it takes no time at all before I'm parking my yellow, Ford Raptor in front of my childhood home. I sighed in relief at the sight of Mum's old red Master in the carport – at least she didn't move house. The nerves of not knowing what to say hit me, making me what to start the car and just drive away.

"Mummy are we there yet?" ask the little black-haired, green-eyed boy in the sit next to me.

"Yeah baby," I smile down to the little boy. "I want you to stay in the car, until I come and get you, okay baby?"

"Okay Mummy," he smiles, apparently not noticing my minor panic attack.

Before I even know what I'm doing, I'm on the porch, knocking on the old white wooden door. _It's too late to run, it's too late to run, oh my god! It's too late to run!_ Then when I'm just about to turn and run the door opens, revealing a slightly older, tireder looking version of the woman I once called Mum.

She looks at me for a second and goes to say something when realisation crosses her face. Her eyes gloss over with tears. "Ava," she whispers.

I feel tears in my eyes as I say for the first time, in a long time. "Hi Mum."

We embrace in a tearful hug. When we pull away, her eyes are wide and leaking tears of sadness and joy. "Where have you been? Why- why did you leave? We thought you were dead, Ava," she stumbles over her words.

"I'm sorry, I- I just had things I needed to work out," my voice is just as croaky and tear filled as hers.

"…Did you work them out?" she asks. Here goes nothing.

"I was pregnanttoJohnUelywhenIleft, nowIhaveathreeyearoldson," I say in one large mouthful.

"Ava slow down," she says, reaching for my hand. "Come inside and tell me everything."

"I have a three-year-old son." She freezes at my words.

"You… You… I… You…" she stutters; her mouth moves like a fish gasping for air.

"I have a son; you are a grandmother," I say slowly. "If you want me to leave, I'll go. I just didn't what you thinking I'm dead forever." She looks heart broken, scared.

"No- no... Please don't go... Can- can I meet him?"

I shakily nod my head and we walk to the car in silence. When I open Chaska's door he looks up at me with worried eyes, "Mommy o' sad?"

"No baby, never." I put on a shaky smile and calm my trembling fingers just long enough to undo his car seat straps.

Chaska raises his arms to loop around my neck and I lift his small form onto my right side. "Mummy who ta?" Chaska asks, eyeing Mum closely.

Mum has lifted her hands to cover a gasp, as she looks over Chaska. "That's my Mummy," I tell him, and watch for any disagreement on my Mum's face.

"Hello." He smiles a gap-filled grin.

"Hello sweetie… what's your name?" Mum asks, leaning down to his eye level.

"Chaska-a."

"First born son?" she asks me. I still see shock in her eyes but there are hints of joy… and sadness.

"Yep." I press a kiss to his temple.

"Oh dear god," she gasps, like the last person in on a secret. "John Uley?" she asks.

I cringe at his name but nod my head. "Yes."

 _ **#I hope you liked reading the first chapter of Where life leads me, I know this chapter wasn't my best work but trust me it does get better and longer. If you don't get anything feel free to ask questions and I'll be happy to answer. #**_

 _ **#If you want the next chapter as quick as possible follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, they can spick some inspiration in me, and I love to know what you think!#**_

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	2. 10 cents to my name

Chapter 2

"Start from the beginning," says Mum, cupping her hands on the table in front of me. I glance over to the living room to make sure Chaska isn't listening. He sits on the living room floor staring mindlessly at the cartoons on the TV.

I take a long calming breath and look back at Mum. "I found out I was pregnant a week before John… died. I told him the night I found out. He told me it was my decision to make and would support my choice. That was the week I missed school with "the flu". I did pros and cons on keeping, giving away, and getting rid of the baby. I decided to getting rid of it would be for best…"

Mum looks from me to Chaska and back, sympathy and sadness staining her once happy brown eyes. "You were a single mother of three, and finding it hard enough to put food on the table as it was… it would have been no fair on the baby and the family-" she opens her mouth to speak but I cut off her unspoken words. "I know you would have said 'we can make it work', 'I'm not disappointed in you but it sure isn't what I wanted for you', that's why I didn't tell you. I know you would have talked me out of getting rid of it." I draw in some more deep breaths trying to post pone the tears.

"John got worried that I hadn't talked to him in nearly a week and stopped answering his text and calls, so he came over while you were at work and I told him that I wasn't keeping the baby and he… he got really angry, then really sad, then stormed out to his car… and that was the last time I saw him. Next morning, I woke up to you crying and saying that there had been a car crash and John was… dead," a few silent tears slide down my face.

"Oh- darling I… Oh sweetie, I'm so sorry. I could only imagine what you were going through." I see Mum shed a few tears as well. I shake my head and concentrate on my breathing and wipe my tears away with the back of my hands.

"I couldn't get rid of the last piece of John but…" I sigh. "I also couldn't let my stupidity destroy another family. So I packed a bag, got all the money I had saved for college, got in my old green truck and drove… I had no destination, no job, no support, no hope, no faith that leaving was really the best choice, nothing."

"…Where did you end up?" I see she doesn't want to push me but she needs answers.

"After a few weeks… maybe two months, I was still… zoned out, I guess… just kept going. I lived in the truck to save money and got all the way to Salt Lake City before the truck died and I was nearly broke… 10 cents, if that to my name and I was going to use it to call home and tell you I fucked up."

"Mummy say bad word," I jump slightly at Chaska's sudden appearance next to me. "Owe dollar." He struggles to say it, but holds out his left palm and taps it with his right index finger, showing a 'give it over' move.

"Got change for a hundred?" I smirk.

"Nope," he says, popping the p.

"What about a hug?" I suggest and he puts his arms in the air as a sign for me to pick him up, so I hoist him up onto my lap- if only he stays this easy to bribe through his teen years.

"Why didn't you call?" Mum asks, sounding like she's failed. She eyes Chaska with such sadness I can look at her.

"The mechanic that told me my truck was stuffed, saw that I was living in my truck and asked me where I was trying to get too. I told him that it was a long story and he didn't have time for my petty problems," I smile, remembering Rick. "He flipped the sign of his shop to closed and said 'start from the beginning, I have all the time in the world,' so I told him… everything."

"He told me out right that he couldn't tell if I was the bravest or stupidest girl he had ever met," I chuckle. "But he said he liked my spunk and offered me a job taking calls and doing the books. I took the job and cashed my truck to the wreckers and moved into the room above the shop."

"Rick and I became close, he treated me like the daughter he never had. His wife Lori was a sweet old dear, she got me out of my… zoned out faze, and got me to finally grieve and accept I was going to be a mum." I press a kiss to Chaska's forehead. He sits silently playing with one of the stray curls that has fallen lose from my bun.

"I had Chaska April 3rd, 2005. We lived in the room above the shop until he was one year old, and I had enough money to keep going. Rick gave me an old truck he picked up cheap. I still send post cards to Rick and Lori, if not for them I don't know where I could have ended up," my smile turns sad.

"And where was that?"

"I ended up finding my way to Chicago, Chaska was just about ready to start walking by then and I got the break of a life time. As we were doing some sightseeing, just happened to pass a building that had a sign in the window that read 'You think you got what it takes to walk the walk?' It was a modelling business wanting a new face…" I say as Mum's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "I thought what the hell, I had been doing the odd job here and there as they came and thought it can't hurt. I made it to the top three but a blue-eyed blonde got the gig. To my luck though, a fashion designer was in the building that day and said she absolutely loved my outfit and had to know who the designer was."

Mum is intently staring at me hanging on each word that leaves my lips. "You know I was an op shop, pair of scissors, type of girl and when I told her I created it myself she flipped and hired me on the spot. I worked in design offices, saying what's in and out of season. It wasn't my cup of tea, but all I had to do was match this and match that and collect a big check at the end of the week; so I stuck around. After ten months I took a leap and created my own fashion line and since then I have gone on to create my own jewellery line, kid's clothes and toys, shoes, I have my own websites and a couple stores opening up here and there around the US, and have been doing very… very well."

"That… that's amazing honey. God, my little girl's all grown up."

"It took a long, long time but I got to where I was meant to go in the end. I have been in New York City the last seven months displaying my designs and all keeps going how it has been I won't have to work another day in my life, guess that's good. So enough about me, how have Leah and Seth doing?"

Mom looks frazzled for a second before breaking out into a huge grin. "They're great, Leah just moved in with Paul Lahote… there engaged as of the 27th of last month. And Seth is almost finished school, he's working part time at a mechanic shop with Paul and some of their friends."

"That's great… God life moves fast when you're not looking."

 _ **#If you don't get anything feel free to ask questions and I'll be happy to answer.#**_

 _ **#If you want the next chapter as quick as possible follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, they can spick some inspiration in me, and I love to know what you think!#**_

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	3. Gentleman

Chapter 3

"Mum, who owns the hot truck?" asks Seth as he walks through the front door, throwing his school bag on the arm chair. He has grown, tall and lanky but huge with muscles, not the same scrawny stick I remember. Mum and I have been making quiet conversation for the last two hours and I have put my bags in my old room and put Chaska down for a nap.

"Seth this is... Ava." Mum smiles proudly, yet shaky. Seth stops in the hall way and stares at me with a blank expression.

"Hey Seth… ya miss me?" I smirk and in a blink of an eye Seth has me in a bone crushing hug. He has got much taller, at my 5'8 feet he has my legs dangling like a rag doll.

"Where the hell have you been?" Seth barks, as he puts me back on the ground.

"Sightseeing," I smirk, as I sit back down.

"Funny," says Seth, taking a seat on the chair next to Mum. They both look at me like they're memorising every inch of my profile. "You must have been somewhere good, you look and smell rich," Seth smirks.

"Just because I don't smell like dirt and trees, doesn't mean I'm rich," I scoff.

"Well if the truck out front's yours, then you either stole it, robbed a bank, or you're rich." I nod to his logic.

"I'm well off." I can't seem to wipe the wide grin off my face.

"Does Leah know your back?"

"No, we decided to wait until the bonfire tonight," says Mum, biting her bottom lip nervously.

"Think she'll be surprised?" I ask Seth.

"Yeah, just a little bit." Seth looks at me in awe with that stupid smirk plastered on his face.

"You think if I showed up with a kid, she'll freak?" Seth's face changes to one of confusion and he looks to Mum to see if I'm lying.

Mum shakes her head and Seth slowly turns back to face me, his lips are in an o. "That why you left?" he asks, slowly.

"Yep, you're an uncle to a three-year-old boy, his name's Chaska," I smile.

"Wow, way to make me feel old," Seth chuckles.

"You think you feel old. Try finding out you're a grandmother," says Mum.

"If Seth ever finds out he's a grandmother, I think he'll have bigger problems then feeling old." We all laugh at my joke.

"Mummy," calls a small voice from down the hall, stopping the laughter.

"Yeah Chask?" I call. He walks out of the hall rubbing tired eyes that immediately land on Seth and go wide.

"Mummy, who's he?" Chaska ask, his big eyes still locked on Seth.

"This is my brother Seth, he's your uncle. Say hello," I smile at the young boy. His small face lights up with a bright smile and he walks towards Seth with a hand held out.

"Hello Seth, I'm Chaska-a." Mum and Seth both chuckle at the boy's grown-up speak. Seth takes Chaska's hand – 1/8 of the size of his, and shakes it lightly. "Nice to meet you," my boy says, stepping back from Seth. Chaska then walks to me with arms held high, and I hoist him onto my lap.

"How did you teach him to do that?" asks Mum, chuckling at me.

"You're just jealous you can't get Seth to act like a gentleman," I smirk, pressing a kiss to the back of Chaska's head.

"How do you know I can't be a gentleman?" Seth pouts, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Mummy always right," Chaska says before I can remark.

"Oh Ava, can you teach Seth to do that?" Mum claps her hands in front of her mouth, beaming at my boy's cuteness.

"I can say you're right," Seth protests.

"When do you ever say I'm right?" Mum shoots back at him.

"Mum's always right," I say nodding, and stick my tong out at Seth like a child.

It feels good to be home…

…

"Ava, Mum texted!" Seth yells down the hall. Mum has already gone to the bonfire and was going to text us when Leah got to the beach.

"Okay," I call back, taking one more look at myself. I chose to wear a red crop top, black leather jacket half zipped up, dark skinny jeans, and red sneakers. I let my dark brown hair hang loose down my back, blond streaks curling amongst the brown. I kept jewellery simple, two silver studs in each ear, a few rings on my fingers and a light silver chain around my neck. I slip my phone in my jacket pocket and grab the truck keys before walking out of my old room.

I walk into the living room to find Seth rolling around on the floor with Chaska, both laughing their heads off.

"And I was worried Chask wouldn't have anyone his age to play with." Seth rolls over to look at me, Chask locked in his arms.

"I forgot how funny you are Ava," he says sarcastically, before releasing my son from his arms. Chaska jumps up and dusts off his puffy black jacket and blue jeans.

"I know, I'm a hoot and a half, now come on I don't want to be late," I say, picking up Chaska. Seth groans lazily as he drags himself up off the floor.

"You can't be late for something when no-one knows you're coming," Seth points out, kicking on some old joggers that were by the front door.

"Wow, look who's Mr Know-it-all for once," I say as we walk out the door.

"Hey!" Seth objects.

"Is for horses, what's your point Seth?"

"What?" he asks, looking at me like I'm speaking French.

"Never mind, just get in the truck."

"Can I drive?"

"I don't know, can you?"

"…What?"

"God he needs to get out more," I mutter as I buckle Chaska in the back. "Oh what the hell, knock yourself out," I say, tossing Seth the keys and jumping into the passenger seat.

 _ **#If you want the next chapter as quick as possible follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, they can spick some inspiration in me, and I love to know what you think!#**_

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	4. Crash landing

Chapter 4

Nerves start to eat me alive as we walk down the winding sand track leading to First Beach. Seth is holding a pouting Chaska, he wants to play in the water, and I don't want to be up for the next week dealing with a sick three-year-old.

"But Mummy, why not?" he whines.

"No, Chaska," I say, the calm in my voice wearing thin.

"But Mummy-"

"What part of no don't you understand the N or the O?"

"But Mummy-"

"Seth, I blame you," I growl through gritted teeth.

"What did I do?!"

"I leave Chask alone with you for ten minutes. Before those ten minutes that kid had not whined once in his life. Now…" I trail off, gesturing to the boy in his arms.

"You have no proof," Seth shrugs, holding his head a little higher.

"That smirk on your face is proof enough." Seth chuckles then whispers something to Chaska, too quietly for me to hear. "Great, you broke him; I think I would prefer you to crash my truck," I mutter as we reach the beaches edge. Starting towards the far end of the beach I see movement of people and the flicker of a flame, in the fading day light.

"But Mummy, Why-?"

"What if tomorrow we come to the beach, the whole day, and you can do whatever you want? Just be good- and that means no listening to Seth," I add quickly.

"Really?" Chaska's pouting lips turn to a sweet dimpled smile.

"Really," I nod.

"Love you Mummy," Chask says in a sing song voice, now as happy as could be.

"Traitor." Now Seth is the one pouting.

"No offence Seth, but if I have to put up with a tantrum, I would much prefer it to be yours. But just tell me first so I can film it," I chuckle. Seth starts to mutter my words back to me in a bad impression voice but is cut short when someone yells his name.

I look away from Seth and Chask to see we're closer to the group of people than I thought. I can see Mum and a few other women mulling around a table of food. I pick out Leah easily, her hair still cut in a short bob – only Quileute girl I know not to grow out their hair – intently talking with Mum and not paying any attention to us, as the only boys there run the hundred-meter distance between us with incredible speed.

They can't be older than fifteen, both obviously Quileute with black hair and copper skin. One wears cut-off jeans, a tattered black t-shirt and black sneakers. The other has on a red cheeked button up, ripped jeans and no shoes. The one in cut-offs speaks first. "Hey Seth, who's-" his eyes give me a quick once over, and a cheeky smirk forms on his face "-this?"

No-shoes elbows him and sends me an apologetic smile. "Sorry about Collin he's…" he drags out the 's' thinking of the word "-a pig. Hi, I'm Brandon." He holds out a hand and I shake it, chuckling lightly.

"Boys this is Ava, my sister. And her son Chaska," Seth says, and Brandon's hand falls limp from mine. Both boys look at Seth like he's grown a set of elephant ears, then back to me, jaws hanging loosely for a second before cracking up laughing.

"Good one Seth," Collin says, clutching his chest like his laughter is stabbing him in the sternum.

"That's true as the sun is hot and ice is not." Their laughter slows, looking at me confusedly. "I'm Ava May Clearwater, second child of Sue and Harry Clearwater." They stop laughing, looking surprised and curious.

"…Then why have we never met you before?" ask Collin raising one eyebrow.

"Haven't visited for a few years, and when I was here I wasn't very _sociable_." I guess that's as good of word as any to describe me back then.

"Why did Sue not mention you were coming to visit?" ask Brandon.

"It was a surprise; Leah doesn't even know I'm here." I flick my eyes back to where I last saw Leah, just checking she's still occupied. Leah has her back to us but I see one of the other women there looking our way, but Mum must have already seen us and is straight to the woman's side, whispering something in her ear.

"I don't believe them," Collin mutters at Brandon.

"Yeah you're right, I rented two actors for the night to play a prank on yous," Seth says sarcastically.

"I guess not," Brandon says, looking at Chaska intently. "…How old is he? Course if you're younger than Leah that means-"

"It means don't do the maths," I cut his wondering short. "Now I had the time of my life talking with you two, really it was a blast," I say sarcastically with a roll of my eyes. "But my mother is either landing an air plane, or signalling for me to hurry up." We all look over to see Mum waving her hands back and forth above her head.

I quick step away from the boys, towards my mother as she gets back to the table by Leah. Not counting my mother and sister there are four other Quileute females here. I only recognise one of them, Emily Young, a cousin on my mother's side of the family. The last time I saw her she was probably seventeen but she hasn't changed to much if you take away the three scars marking her face and the swollen stomach. She's still beautiful as ever though.

Emily sits by the fire with two girls in their mid-teens; all are watching me with curiosity. I see small tears fall from Emily's deep brown eyes as she mouths, "Ava."

I lift a finger to my lips signalling to be quiet as I stop five meters away from Leah. They nod softly and I draw a deep breath.

"Hey Leah!"

"Oh what?!" she snaps spinning to look at me. I'm not surprised by the venom in her words, my sister always had a temper problem.

"Long time no see, Lea-Bee," the anger on her face melts away to an expression of disbelief, Lea-Bee was my own nickname for her no one else dared to call her that.

"Wh-? Av-? You-? No-? I-? Can't-? You-?" she stutters as her eyes water. She takes a shaky step forward before falling to her knees and cupping her mouth to soften the loud sobs. It kills me to see her like this because of me. Without me even knowing I fall in the sand next to Leah, wrapping my arms around her and crying tears I hadn't realised I had started to shed. "Your- Your real-l. You're really here," she sobs into my shoulder.

"Yeah, Lea-Bee. I'm her, and I'm not going anywhere," I promise.

 ** _#So please review, I love to hear what you think (good or bad). By the way Leah isn't a wolf in this story just an imprint and heads up for later Claire is 15. And I what to send a huge !THANK YOU! To everyone who has reviewed other chapters, you really don't know how much it means to me -it takes a lot to make me cry and when I woke up at eight after staying up to two to post chapter 3 and saw the responses to this story I was in tears (happy ones) thank you all so much…#_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	5. Look at you

Chapter 5

I don't know how long Leah and I stay locked in each other's arms, cheeks damp with a tear for every day I was away. My tears have slowed but Leah's are still going strong. This moment - being locked in the safety of each other's arms - reminds me oh so much of the day Dad died…

 _At five years old I was too smart for my own good. As family and friends gathered in the hospital waiting room, Leah sat playing Where's Waldo with Jacob Black – more like playing tug-a-war over who gets the book – but she hadn't sensed the sadness filling the air, the worry not yet eating away at her innards._

 _I sat silently in the far corner of the room next to Sophie Black, who was holding my baby brother Seth. He was sound asleep, also unaware of the sadness radiating from the adults. We had been here for ages, my siblings and I had spent the day at the Black's, but just after lunch time the phone rang and Sophie said that my Dad had an accident at work and we had to go to the hospital, it was now dark outside._

 _I had only got a glimpse of my mother when we arrived, before she went down the hallway. People kept going down the same hallway and then coming back looking sad, some crying. I watched the hallway hoping to see Mum's happy face waiting there to tell me everything was going to be okay, but it wasn't there. Adults came and went down the hall way, some alone, others with their partners. I asked Sophie if I could go down the hallway but she said not until Mum came and got me, so I sat and I waited._

 _Time felt like it wasn't moving, and if I could read time on the wall clock I would say it was broken because the hands just kept spinning in circles going nowhere. People slowly started to leave, not one of them showing the slightest shred of happiness. The ones that caught my eyes gave a sympathetic nod._

 _The only people that stayed were the Blacks, Calls, and Atearas. Jack and Quil tried to get me to play with them but I turned down the offers. Leah was wasting time looking through the waiting room bookshelf, and Seth was still asleep._

 _Eventually a lady, with hair as white as the coat she wore, came and got Leah and I. She led us down the hallway in silence. We came to a stop at door 28… that's how old Daddy's going to be next week, I thought, not knowing what waited for me behind the door._

 _The first thing I noticed when entering room 28 was my daddy, lying still… lifeless… on the hospital bed, hooked up to all different devices beeping and flashing. Mum was sitting next to the bed, head resting on their joined hands._

 _"Mummy," Leah choked out. Mum slowly looked up at us, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and bottom lip shaking slightly. "Is daddy okay?" Mum shook her head no, not being able to say the word. Leah fell to the white tiled floor in a wreck of tears and sobs, the sadness of the day finally hitting her._

 _With jerky movements I sat down next to Leah, wrapping my arms around her and letting my sad, worried, fearful tears fall as well. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay," I sobbed into her shoulder._

 _"He left." Her voice was so soft and tearful I hardly made it out._

 _"But I'm here, and I'm not going anywhere." I knew I was the little sister and she was meant to be comforting me but Lea-Bee was daddy's first born, they had a special bond._

"You left," she whimpered, pulling away just enough to look me in the eyes.

"But I'm here now and I'm not going anywhere. I promise Lea-Bee, never again." Her bottom lip quivers and she goes to say something but her eyes drifted by me, catching sight of something, someone behind me. She looks back to me then away, back again then when she goes to look back I do too and see my Chaska watching us nervously.

I half spin out of Leah's arms and motion for Chaska to move closer, I look back to Leah nervously. "Leah, this is Chaska." I look back at Chaska. "Chask this is your Aunt Leah, come say hello." I feel Leah go rigid next to me as Chaska steps forward extending a hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Aunt Leah." It takes a moment before Leah lifts a shaky hand and softly shakes Chaska's hand, gasping quietly when their skin touches – like she didn't think he was real.

"It-Its nice, Chaska, it's nice to meet you Chaska," Leah stutters slightly, pulling her hand back to wipe the remaining tears from her cheeks.

"Why are you sad?" Chask ask biting his bottom lip and ringing his hands together.

"…Just…"

"…Happy to meet you," I finish for Leah. I look back to meet her eyes, looking for any objection, but she sends me a light nod with a shaky smile. I smile and pull myself to my feet, take a step back from Leah, and swat the sand from my knees. Then I get tackled into an awkward – because of the big belly – yet loving and caring hug from Emily.

"Look at you!" she squeals after a moment pushing me arm's length away to look me up and down, fresh tears in her eyes and a huge smile on her lips.

"No, look at you. What, seven months?"

"Seven months' yesterday." She nods and look at Chaska, who is talking quietly with Leah, who still looking shocked. "What, four years?" Emily asks, looking back at me.

"In April," I nod, and pull her back for another hug.

 ** _#Please follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, they can spick some inspiration in me, and I love to know what you think!)#_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	6. Do the maths

Chapter 6

Jacob POV

I walk out of the forest to First beach, Embry to my right, Quil left. "-And the way it just ripped in four was so cool." Quil laughs, reminiscing on the Leach we just took out. Sam and Paul had stayed behind to take care of the remains, whilst Jared and Max ran patrol. It had been almost a year since Bella left with her Leach and his coven, and Leaches in the area have become few and far between. Today's Leach run in was the first in over two months.

"That's amazing Leah," says an all too familiar female voice. I stop mid stride, Embry and Quil also stop – dropping the conversation. I slowly lift my head to look over the nearing bonfire to see…. No, it can't be. She- she's not real. She can't be.

"Please tell me I'm not the only one that sees her," Quil says quietly, as though speaking too loud will scare her away like some wild animal.

"She, that umm, can't… that- that umm." I'm to lost for words to confirm the sight before me. Ava Clearwater, the very same Ava Clearwater that went missing three… almost four years ago. The same Ava Clearwater the Pack had named first victim to fall at the hands of Leach's. The same Ava Clearwater I still catch Sam mourning over…

Ava had been dating Sam's little brother John for three years until a freak car accident took him from this world. Sam had grown to care for Ava, she was like a little sister to him, she was probably the only thing that kept him from phasing after John's death.

After Ava was reported missing Sam vanished too – only now the Pack knows it's because he phased – some people said they ran away together, others said Sam killed Ava and that he was on the run. When Sam returned two weeks later he was investigated by police but nothing was found – even thought there was nothing to find – but some people still label Sam as bad news.

She looks older, her face thinner then I remember, making her green eyes stand out more. Her hair that once reached all the way to her waist has been cut to elbow length and now has streaks of blond shining through the natural glossy brown. Her skin looks paler, like she hasn't see sunlight for months, almost light enough to pass for a normal tan – something hard to do for a full descent Quileute. But she looks healthy, living, breathing, heart still beating, just laughing away with Leah, Sue, and Emily like she never left.

"Ava," Embry says softly, but this softly is different to Quil's. It's caring and happy, more testing the name then questioning. I look to my left to see Embry looking at Ava like a blind man seeing the sun for the first time, like nothing else matters, like… like he just imprinted on her. Embry Lawson Call just imprinted on none other than Ava May Clearwater.

"Did he just-?" Quil trails off.

"Yep," I nod, smiling at my brethren. I slap Embry on the shoulder and say "Congrats man, you imprinted on a dead girl."

"She's an angel." Embry chuckles lightly, not looking back at Quil and I as he walks towards the bonfire with a new found spring in his step.

"He's already whipped," Quil snickers, bumping my shoulder as we start after Embry.

"Yeah you're one to talk," I say, bumping his shoulder back.

"Shut up," he grouches.

I shake my head at Quil looking back to the bonfire. I see Kim – Jared's imprint – Bree – Brandon's imprint – and Claire – Quil's imprint – all sitting closely on one of the logs circling the bonfire. All three girls are smiling and giggling over a small boy who sits in front of them. The boy probably a bit over three, with shaggy black hair and rustic skin – obviously Quileute but I've never seen him before… Three years, add on nine months, equals almost four years… "Couldn't be," I mutter, stopping dead in my tracks.

"What?" ask Quil, stopping as well.

"The kid in front of Claire…"

"What… Oh fuck you- you don't think-?"

"Yes, yes I do very much think."

"Well this is going to be fun, should have asked Emily to make popcorn?" Quil laughs.

Ava POV

This is nice, normal, like I have always been here. I guess a piece of me never left. I sit by the flickering fire talking with Mum, Leah, and Emily about the past years. I only gave the bare facts of why I left. Leah says we'll talk about it another time and Emily says she's just happy I'm back.

Seth took Collin and Brandon to see my truck; after I made sure to get my keys back. Chaska is being a little charmer to Claire, Bree – who I learnt was Brandon's girlfriend – and Kim.

I'm currently watching Leah talk about her wedding, "…and we were thinking about a spring wedding. Oh, Ava you can be a bridesmaid, and Chaska could be the ring bearer. I can't wait, I've already got the 17th of next month put aside for dress shopping in Seattle, and-"

"Leah," Mum says cutting her off, placing a comforting hand on Leah's shoulder. "Honey, slow down a bit. We don't know how long Ava's going to be here for."

"Oh, yeah sorry. Just- just excited…" Leah says sheepishly, biting her bottom lip and looking away from me to the fire.

"No, Lea-Bee." I grab her hands in mine. "It's okay, and I told you I'm not going anywhere. Alright?" I say softly making her look me in the eyes to see I'm telling the truth. At least I hope I am.

Sam POV

Paul and I walk out of the forest to find Seth, Collin, and Brandon all drooling over an expensive looking truck. "Get away from that before you break it!" their heads snap in our direction.

"Yeah you mutts don't got enough money in your piggy banks to fix a rig like that." Paul whistles walking around the truck, nodding with approval.

"We're allowed to look," Collin grouches.

"I got to drive it," snickers Seth.

"Who's would let you drive that?" I ask stopping next to Seth.

"His sister," says Brandon.

"If Leah had a truck like this I would know," says Paul.

"Not Leah, Ava." I feel my stomach knot at Collins words.

"You wh-what? Ava's back?" I ask, shaking slightly with… with what? Anger, fear, hope, grief, hate, love, loss – every feeling ever known.

"Yeah she dropped in out of the blue today," says Seth happily.

"And… she's okay?" my words sound stupid, pathetic.

"Yeah, she's great and you'll never guess what, I'm an Uncle." Then everything goes a bit blurry.

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	7. New freinds, old times

Chapter 7

Embry POV

Today was little different to yesterday and the day before that, and the thousand before that. That is until I heard her, the woman that would change my world, by becoming my world. I was just looking up from the sand at my feet to throw my ten cents on Quil's Leach story when I saw her, heard her, wondered how I had been surviving so long without her.

I stopped walking, stopped listening to Jake and Quil, stopped caring about my own needs. All that mattered was her, forest green eyes framed by dark curls, and tanned skin that glows in the setting sunlight. My brain took a few more moments to catch up with the moving gravity around me. This beautiful, amazing, spectacular, woman in front of me that could do no wrong was…

"Ava." My hart does a somersault at hearing her name, so simple, with three letters, yet so different, so perfect for her. For my Ava... my imprint.

My brain doesn't even comprehend that this couldn't be possible, that the woman in front of me has been labelled dead for years. My inner wolf whimpers at the thought of not knowing Ava, or losing her. No, never... I feel a hand slap me on the shoulder, bringing noise back to my ears and I hear Jake say, "Congrats man, you imprinted on a dead girl."

If he sees her, and I see her… That means she's real, here, living, breathing, mine. How she is here I don't care, because she is… here and never leaving again. "She's an angel," I chuckle, and walk towards her… my angel.

Ava POV

"Ava." A slight shiver runs through me at the male voice saying my name. I look away from Leah to see…

Embry POV

"Embry." My heart skips a few beats at the sound of her soft, silvery voice saying my name. I have to remind myself to breathe… blink… See beyond her captivating features, to Sue and Leah who sit beside her, giving me strange looks.

Ava POV

He's much taller and muscular then I remember, but his eyes are still the same unforgettable dark brown that if you look close enough you can see flicks of grey. Embry and I were once great friends, from Year One to Year Eight of school. That was good… and bad, kind of the reason we stopped being friends, I guess. Embry could only see me as one of the guys, to him I was no more than Jake or Quil. But Embry was always so much more to me...

The break between Year Seven and Eight was when I made the call, and changed everything about me. My look went from sweatpants, boy's shirts and joggers to fitted jeans, girly shirts, and high heels. So Embry was going to accept me for who I wanted to be, a real girly girl like my sister had always been. Or turn me away. The teenage girl piece of me thought he would fall in love with me and we would become high school sweethearts.

But he didn't. I walked by him multiple times before our first class together and he didn't even recognize me! By the time him and the other guys realised the girl they thought was new was their tomboy done up, it was too late. I had found new friends, one of them being hot shot boy of our year, John Uley.

A guy had never looked twice at me or given me any type of attention before then. It felt amazing when he said "I sure hope you know CPR; cos you're taking my breath away." That was John's type of humour, so stupid it would always make me laugh and giggle like an idiot.

After school that day Embry and I got in a huge fight. He was yelling at me for turning into a slut, resulting in me yelling at him for being a jackass bastard. Then all chance of saying sorry and forgiving each other was thrown out the window when John stepped in and gave Embry a black eye. After that… we stopped talking, could hardly make eye contact in the school hallways. Seven years of friendship gone in the blink of a black eye.

Sitting here now, I wonder how my life would have changed if I never caused that fight. For one I would never have gotten tangled up with John, so no Chaska, no running away, no legacy to my name. I would have graduated high school, might have gone off to college, might have become a maths or arts teacher like I had wanted to when I was a little girl.

Or is the future always set in stone? If I didn't tear us apart, would something else have come along? But there's no going back in life, what has happened has happened and the only way left is forward. But if I had the option of going back… changing the past. I don't think I could do it, give up ever knowing my amazing Chaska, never getting to feel all the things John could do to my heart. And in the long run of friendship, Embry and I wouldn't have worked out. I would have been stuck in the background watching him date whichever girl was lucky enough to get his attention.

But he looks happy to see me, well really he looks to me like a blind man seeing for the first time, but that's still good, right? I think I'm looking to him the same way though; I want to look away from him but I just- I just can't, I feel like he's holding me to the earth instead of gravity. A piece of me wants to run up to him, hold him close, feel safe in his arms… But another piece of me is terrified, if I move closer to him will he run away from me? Will he yell at me; could he ever forgive me?

I'm shaken from my worried thoughts by two more familiar faces appearing at Embry's sides. The same as Seth and Embry have done, these two have also gotten taller and muscular – is everyone on steroids – but their faces, covered with cheeky smirks, make me sure they're the same Jake and Quil.

"Long time no see," Jake laughs, whilst slapping Embry on the back of the head.

"Yeah…" I smile.

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	8. X's and O's

Chapter 8

Embry POV

"Yeah," Ava smiles, looking up at me through thick black eyelashes, sending my heart into overdrive. I catch sight of a twinkle in her eyes, a beautiful, amazing sparkle of life. "Too long," Ava says, smoothly jumping to her feet.

I have to make my inner wolf subside a growl as Ava jumps at Jake, hooking her arms around his neck. Their hug lasts barely four seconds but it's long enough to make me want to rip Jake's head off. Why does she hug him first? She is mine, not his!

But all anger and jealousy disperses when Ava hugs me, her small, soft arms wrapping around my chest and her head fitting perfectly under my chin. Her sweet smell fills my nostrils: oranges, strawberries, blueberries… a whole fruit salad. I wrap my arms around her and feel like I found the piece of me I never knew was missing. I know that sounds corny, but it's true.

All is short lived though when she pulls away from me, her eyes barely meeting mine before she gives Quil a quick squeeze.

Ava POV

I step back from Quil but not before he catches one of my hands and give me a spin round, my sneakers drilling a hole in the sand – sending me into a fit of girly giggles. For some weird reason I feel a need to look to Embry, my eyes instantly meeting his, only to see… sadness? Anger? Jealousy?

I don't know why but I have to look away from his gaze, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me... Wait- why do I feel guilty? I did nothing wrong! Hugging an old friend is allowed! Why- my thoughts are interrupted by soft laughter. I look to my right and see…

Embry POV

A small boy that I have never seen before is sitting on Claire's lap. I hadn't even noticed Claire, Bree, Kim or the small boy, before hearing the girls' laughter. The boy is covering his eyes with his small hands, a slight blush creeping up his cheeks, causing the girls to laugh harder.

I smile, and a funny feeling runs through me… something I've never felt before, making my heart feel _fuzzy_. I guess that would be the word. A mixture of calm, caring, happiness… pride? But then a sickly, angry feeling creeps up my spine, fear sent running through my inner wolf.

I slowly look to Ava. She looks peaceful, looking to the boy with a wistful smile and bright eyes, glossing with... pride. "Wh-, she, him… no," I snarl under my breath, and an angry shudder runs through me.

I can't believe this. I can't believe I finally found my imprint. I finally, found _her_! The one I want to spend the rest of my life with! My other half! _My_ reason for existence… and she has a kid. The kid has a father, that means Ava has a boyfriend, or even worse a husband! That means she wouldn't want me.

It's only when a heavy hand is put on my shoulder that I realise I was shaking. "Man you okay?" Quil asks me quietly.

"…Yeah… I guess" I say, slowly looking away from Ava, down to the ground. Imprint means we'll be whatever they need, whether it's a friend, brother, lover. I just need her in my life, as long as she's happy… "Yeah I'm fine." As long as she's happy, I'll be happy.

Ava POV

I open my mouth to introduce the guys to my son, but before words can leave my lips the muffled tunes of Adele singing Hello reach my ears. I unzip my jacket pocket, and pulling out my phone to see it's my receptionist, Max. I huff in irritation, _what part of only call if it's life or death did she not get?_ "Sorry, got to take this," I say, hopping over the log and answering the call as I walk towards the shore line. "Someone better be dead," I say into the phone.

"Oh Ava," Max's chirpy voice sighs in my ear. "What happened to saying hello, how was your day?"

"Max if no-one is dead someone will be. I specifically said _no_ calls until Monday," I hiss and I hear her huff in response. For the following few moments all I hear is the tapping of a keyboard. I wait for her to say why she was calling but I don't need to be there to know she is pouting over my tone. "You got three seconds to talk before I hang up."

"Well…" she rolls out the L, making the word draw on forever.

"Three, Two-"

"Fine, I'm calling because Hugo Boss's just put a very tasty offer on the table for X's and O's," she says, as I reach the water's edge. The tips of my boots just touching the water before it is sucked back to the sea.

"I don't care; they can wait," I groan in annoyance and go to hang up but Max speaks up a bit quicker.

"Honey they said limited time offer, need yay or nay ASAP," she urges, flamboyantly using modern terminology.

"They can wait!" I say formally, eyes looked on the last sliver of sun as it disperses, replaced by moonlight.

"Don't you even want to hear how much they're offering?" she sounds like she's on the edge of her seat, so I know it's a BIG number with lots of pretty little zeros...

"No!" …but I don't care.

"You're playing with fire, Ava. They'll walk and then guess what will happen-"

"We wait for someone else."

"What are you going to do if you can't sell it?"

"I don't know but until Monday I don't care how many shiny zeros they put on whatever wow number they came up with. The answer is no, no, and no! N, O, no got it!"

"God Ava I swear you will be the death of me," Max sighs, then starts clicking her tongue.

"Anything else you want?"

"Well… since you asked-"

"I don't have all night, Max."

"Well since you don't have the time to fill me in on how the reunion went just skip to the La Push guys. Anyone there worth bringing back here for me?"

"Told you no details, you had the option of coming and seeing for yourself but you declined."

"I had a good reason."

"Dissing the cold and being scared of the woods is not a good reason to pass on a free vacation."

"No offence girl, but the only way you would catch me dead in a place like that would be if I was in an air tight bubble. It's just, ick, no I can't even think about it." I can almost feel her shudder through the phone.

"Real, fresh, wild, dangers, untamed, unpredictable?" I suggested.

"See, you get it. Good bye girl. Talk to you Monday."

"Monday. Bye Max." I smile, hitting 'end' and slipping my phone back in my jacket pocket. I turn around and take one step forward just to run into a wall-like form. On closer inspection I see it was a Uley. Sam Uley. "Sammy!" I practically squeal, throwing my arms around his bulky form.

"Ava," he says with a shaky breath. He presses a comforting kiss to my forehead, reminding me just how much I missed him. I know the years apart have changed me, and from what Emily told me earlier of her and Sam's life together, the years have definitely changed him. But I feel no matter how long we're apart there will always remain that sibling bond we had built from less than nothing.

"I missed you Sammy."

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	9. On my mind

Chapter 9

Embry POV

Ava runs her blood red nails through her hair, flicking her wrist lightly to push stray strands of hair back over her shoulders. It's such a miniscule movement, that I have seen various people do thousands of times before, yet when I see Ava does it… it's so captivating to my mind. Her long slender fingers, tipped with bright red, running through the dark glossy brown waves of hair. The moonlight making it shimmer, and the blonde streaks looking like lightning strikes in the night. I could easily stay like this, watching her for hours on end with no complaint, or desire to look away.

And that's what I have been doing, for the last three, maybe more, hours since I imprinted on her. I keep finding my eyes trailing in her direction, drawn to her every movement. At the moment she sits across the bonfire from me, next to Leah and Kim. Chaska, Ava's son, sits on her lap, leaning back into her arms and gazing up to the stars.

I want to like the kid, I really do, but I can't seem to get past part of him being some other guy's kid. Ava has said nothing about the man in her life but earlier she got a phone call. I wasn't trying to eavesdrop but my keen wolf ears did pick up the name Max and the words love, and X's and O's.

I can't say it didn't feel like a knife stabbing my very being, but she came back with a smile on her face. So we'll just have to be friends, as long as she's happy… as long as she's happy, then I'll be happy… yeah, I'll be happy. And I'll keep telling myself that until it comes true.

Ava POV

I watch the dying fire, feeling quite pleased with how this whole day has gone. First off Mum let Chaska and me back in with open arms, Seth and I are already joking around like old times, Leah and I caught up on emotions. I got to see all the boys again. Sam was happy to see me, and to top it all off no one straight out asked me where I have been or why I left, like I was scared they all would.

For the first time in a long time, I feel just like a normal person. No talking about work or money, no this colour or that pattern. Just talking about old times and new times to come. And even better than talking, large gaps of complete, comforting silence. Just hearing the crackling fire, and the crashing sea.

We have been here almost five hours now. Mum left a little while ago taking Brandon, Bree, and Collin with her to drop off on the way home. Emily and Sam have just left, leaving me, Chaska, Seth, Leah, Paul, Kim, Jared, Quil, Claire, Jake and Embry… Embry. I don't know why, but his name has been on my mind all night.

I don't know what the hell has gotten into me, I haven't thought of Embry Call for years and now, after one look into those eyes…

"Mummy…" Chaska says all so softly cutting me from my thoughts.

"…Yeah?" I ask, pulling his small form deeper into my arms, resting my cheek on top of his head.

"I'm tired," he says in a yawn.

"…Yeah, think it's time to go back to grandma's?" I feel his head move up and down. "Okay," I yawn as I stand up with Chaska still in my arms.

"Well we're off now, Seth you want a lift?" my brother has spent most the night speaking with Jake, and Quil over some car stuff.

"-and the… Oh no Ava, I'm right I'll just run," Seth says, looking over at me for a second before turning back to the guys.

"You're going to run, in the dark?" I question. I see him stiffen slightly, actually, if I had to say, everyone here stiffened a bit. Jake says something to Seth quietly. So quietly that from five meters away I don't hear a sound, only see the quick movement of lips.

"Oh right, yeah I might need that ride," he smiles, but it's not a funny or happy smile, more like… lying? Like there something he almost got caught out on when he's not meant to say anything.

"Bye guys," Seth says, jumping up off the sand and dusting his shorts off before walking over to me.

"You're not leaving without a hug," Leah says, jumping up from her spot on the log and wrapping Chaska and me in a hug.

Her hug is a little bit on the hard side, and when we pull away I see her eyes are watery. "I'll see you tomorrow," I say.

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow." She bites her lip nervously.

"I'll see you tomorrow Lea-Bee, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere." I smile reassuringly, pulling her back for another hug. "Okay, good night then," I say, stepping back from her, shuffling Chaska so he's resting on my hip and I don't have to hold all his weight.

"Yeah it was a really good night," she smiles, sitting back down next to Paul, but still looking at me with a bit of awe still in her eyes.

"Yeah, 'night everyone," I say, and as Seth and I walk out of the fire's light I hear a few respond with 'nights and byes.

Before we get too far away I look back over my shoulder. I don't know why, I just do. My eyes lock with Embry's instantly and something inside me doesn't want to leave him. I shake my head from my idiotic thoughts and look back at where I'm walking.

…

Seth holds the front door open for me, and I carry Chaska through and down the hall to my bedroom. His eyelids clamped shut as soon as I put him in the truck and they haven't flickered once since. I lay him down on the bed and slip off his boots and jacket as gently as I can, trying not to wake him, but the kid doesn't even budge.

I pull the blankets over Chask before going to my bag and pulling out some clothes. Then I leave the bedroom. On my way to the bathroom I pass Seth. "Good night, Seth," I smile, happy to be able to say those words again.

"Yeah night… Ava? It's really great to have you back." I smile at the hint of shyness in his voice and look back over my shoulder at him.

"It's really great to be back." Then I walk into the small green and white bathroom.

After a quick shower and changing into a pair of sweatpants and T-shirt, I walk back into my room – shutting the bedroom door behind me. I pull my damp hair up into a loose bun before lying down in the bed next to Chaska. I wrap my arms around him, feeling peaceful just knowing where he is.

When he was a baby he always slept in my arms. I was always scared of going to look in the crib and him not being there. I learnt how to do everything one handed – always Chaska in one arm – I could hardly be away from him for a five-minute shower without freaking out.

I have gotten better with separation though, not being able to have Chask in every meeting with me, trying to distance myself from him before he has to go to school. But I still find myself in restless sleep over not having him in my arms. Usually I have to check on him multiple times in a single night, still scared one day he won't be there.

I press a kiss to the back of his head, then close my eyes, leaning into the soft pillow. Everything here is so quiet. Back in NYC there's always noise from the world outside, but here there's barely a crickets' chirp.

I assume Chaska's still asleep as his breathing is soft as a falling feather, but then he speaks, my tired ears almost missing it. "Mummy…?"

"Mmm…" I hum in response, rubbing my head deeper into the pillow and pulling him a little closer.

"I think I like it here." I press another kiss to the back of his head, smiling softly.

"Yeah I think I like it here too," I whisper, dozing off into darkness, but not before hearing the distant call of a wolf. I didn't think there were wolves in La Push? Huh, god only knows what could be hiding in those woods… and to that final thought my body gives into some well needed sleep.

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	10. Yeah right

**_#Day 2#_**

Chapter 10

Ava POV

"Mu- mum-y mummy- mum- mummy," my dream slowly fuzzes away to Chaska's voice, and him bouncing up and down at the foot of the bed cuts me fully from my dream world.

"Yeah Chask?" I yawn, stretching out my arms and legs, which sends a short wave of pins and needles from the end of my toes to the tips of my fingers.

"Grandma say breakfast is ready." He smiles, jumping off the bed and running out the door as soon as his feet hit the floor.

I sit up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, as the cool air sends a shiver down my spine. "Grandma? What are you…? Oh fuck." My eyes shot wide open, surveying the room around me. Yesterday was real… shit, yesterday was real!

I leap out of bed, almost running into the door frame on my hurry out of the room. I run down the hall way to the kitchen, having to grab onto the kitchen doorframe to get grip, as my socks continue to glide with ease over the slick wood floor.

The sweet smell of pancakes, mixed with fresh coffee hits me first. Then I see Mum's smiling face as she places a short stack of pancakes in front of where Chaska's scrabbling onto a white wooden chair. Seth is sitting on the other side of the table stuffing his face, in a hurry to get on with his weekend.

I smile lightly as my mind remembers back to a time when Seth was the one in Chaska's spot, getting all Mum's attention. When Leah was the one standing right here, content to just watch the world move around her, and I was the one stuffing my face in a hurry to get to Embry's house and start my weekend. Embry... I wonder what he's doing right now?

No Ava! I tell myself. That was preteen Ava that was obsessed with everything Embry did, I am not her any more. This being back in familiar surroundings must have brought back some old feelings because now as I walk over and take a seat next to Chaska, snippets of Embry flash through my mind. His bright eyes, soft-looking lips, strong arms… Ava! Stop! It! Now! This is not the time, not the place, and definitely not the guy to be fawning over.

"Morning darling," Mum says, bringing me out of my mind, as she walks over to the boiling coffee pot, clicking it off.

"Morning," I smile. I lean closer to Chask, running a hand over his messy morning hair and press a kiss to his forehead, as he drowns his stack pancakes with maple syrup.

"Coffee, Ava?" Mum asks, as she walks over to me and sits a steaming stack of pancakes in front of me.

"Yes please Mum," I say, as I pry the bottle of syrup from Chaska's fingers.

"But mummy, just a little bit more," Chaska says reaching for the bottle.

"No Chask, you're already too sweet," I say sitting the bottle at the far end of the table.

Mum chuckles softly and ask me, "How much milk, and any sugars? Or are you to sweet-"

"Ava, sweet, ha yeah right," Seth scoffs, laughing as he stands and takes his empty plate over to the sink.

"Seth, funny, ha yeah right," I scoff at Seth then look back to Mum, who is wearing an amused smile. "No sugar and just a drip of milk, please."

"See, told you she wasn't sweet," Seth shrugs innocently, smirking on his way to the front door.

"No Seth, I'm too sweet," I smile, cutting into my pancakes and taking a generous bite of the fluffy goodness.

"Yeah right," he says slipping on some shoes and opening the front door.

I swallow the food in my mouth before saying "Yeah Seth, I am right."

He chuckles shaking his head, calling out bye as he leaves, shutting the door behind him as Mum places the cup of coffee down next to me.

"God, I missed family mornings like this," Mum says, taking a seat across from me with her own cup of coffee.

"Yeah, me too," I smile, a little sadder, before taking a sip of my coffee. "Hmm just right," I sigh, pulling the cup away from my lips.

In my last years here family breakfasts were of a rare occasion. When I started dating John, he would come by early and we would walk to school together, getting breakfast from the bakery on our way by. Around the same time Leah started playing soccer, with her having to go to early morning training most days, that left Seth and Mum home to enjoy each other's company.

"So, what do you two have planned for the day?" Mum asks after a few minutes of silence.

Chaska says something but his mouth is so full of food it ends up sounding like "Blow ta bleach."

"I'm guessing you said go to beach?" He nods excitedly. I look back to Mum and say "Last night I made plans to meet Leah at First Beach around eleven, so we'll probably spend most the day there."

Sue POV

I watch as Ava and Chaska eat away happily. Every so often I take a sip of my coffee. It still doesn't feel real that Ava and her son, my grandson, are sitting right there in front of me. For so long I had been worried about Ava, having to tell myself that she was dead just to try and push my thoughts of her to the far corner of my mind, so I could move on and try to rebuild my life. That was the hardest thing I had ever done, will ever do, in my life.

The shock I got from opening the door to find my second born standing there, perfectly healthy; hasn't worn off yet. But I'm probably the happiest I have ever been getting her back, and gaining another member of the family to love. At first sight Chaska had already won his way into my heart, his darling eyes, sweet smile, just all round preciousness. And Ava never lost her place in my heart, it has just been shut down, and dark, closed off to happiness for so long, that the lightness that's now taking its place is a foreign yet very welcomed feeling.

I'm just so, so happy to now have them in my life, and so, so scared that they're going to have to leave. Sooner or later Ava will have to go back to New York City or wherever this world takes her and hers. For a few seconds I wonder if it's worth the joy of knowing, to the pain of losing but then I see Chaska lift his plate up so he can drink the leftover syrup and end up spilling it down his chin and all over his shirt, and know that yes. This will always be worth it.

Ava POV

The clock on the wall just passed ten thirty, and I was doing one last check through my beach bag to make sure I didn't forget anything. Towels, water bottles, sunblock, hats, snacks, phone, sunglasses, book, and because I know if I don't take them I'll need them, band aids.

After cleaning up breakfast and the god awful mess Chaska got all over himself; I changed into a long, Boho Maxi blue and white striped dress, over a white bikini, matched with platform, white, wedge flip flops. I pull my hair back into a bun, before hooking the brown leather straps to my wicker beach bag over my shoulder before going to the living room. I find Chaska running around the living room in his new lime green rash guard and trunks, both with small black sharks printed on them. He holds the handle of a red bucket in one hand and a blue spade in the other, banging both together happily.

I chuckle walking over to the door. "Chask, you right to go?" I ask, opening the door, and take him sprinting by me to the truck as a yes. "Bye Mum," I call into the house.

"Have fun," I hear her call back, before I close the door and go to help Chaska get into the truck.

The drive to First Beach is a short one filled with Chaska's exited murmurs and my light chuckles. I'm glad today is so nice, barely a cloud in the sky, a rare occasion for La Push. But I as well as everyone else that has ever stepped foot in this town before knows it won't last forever. Sooner or later the rain will come back.

…

A few people are spread along First beach when we get there. I don't recognize any of them, they all look pale like they're from Forks or tourists, come down to the water to enjoy the sunny day. I hold Chaska's hand as we walk down the beach, passing a group of teens sunbaking, an older couple walking the opposite way, and some young kids kicking around a football as who I assume to be their parents chat away happily.

I lead Chask to the far end of the beach, where the waves are smaller and there's soft sand, different to the pebbly stones that coat most the beach.

"Now don't go too far out, remember if you can't see me I can't see you, and…" I release Chaska's hand and with a fingertip up his chin so he's looking me in the eyes. "Have fun." I smile as his face lights up like the sky on fourth of July.

He dashes to the water, jumping as his feet touch the water and landing knee-deep and being sprayed all over by his own splash. He squeals and chuckles away, kicking at the water, happy to play away by himself. I watch him for a few moments before setting down my bag and grabbing out the largest towel, tossing its bright green and pink stripes out over a dryish looking patch of sand.

I sit down on the blanket, then look through my bag and pull out my phone. Holding it up, half shielding the camera with one hand, I capture Chaska's fun in pictures and short videos, his joy transforming into my own.

 ** _#Please follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, I love to know what you think!)#_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	11. Hint of histery

**_#Day 2_**

Chapter 11

Ava POV

I lie on the beach, staring out to the blue abyss of sea and sky. "Well…" I start. "The first business I started, I called Disgustingly Pink. The main thing that drove me made when looking at others' designs in my last job was that there was so much pink, pink, and pink, it was disgusting. Disgustingly Pink. Anyway all I really had to do to get that business going was talk with some of my connections, and throw a few of my designs around, and it pretty much built itself."

"Wait… You're not talking about the same Disgustingly Pink that like the hottest of hot are wearing, right?" Leah ask, rolling over on her beach towel to look at me. Leah got to the beach almost an hour ago and I have slowly been answering her questions, as Chaska plays around in the sand by the shore.

"Yes," I nod.

"No, no, no, no, no, you're joking," Leah says, sitting up to look at me a little bit more seriously.

"No, I own Disgustingly Pink," I smile.

"Like the one with three-digit price tags? And brand looks like a black ink stain with-"

"-Pink lipstick written over it. Yep." I cut in, nodding and chuckling at her shocked, disbelieving face.

"No way," she hisses, leaning back a little, her eyebrows raising a little higher.

"Way," I chuckle, and pull my knees to my chest, resting my chin on my knees.

"W-wow," she stutters.

"Yeah…" I chuckle, starting again. "And since that business was going so well, I looked into doing something I could be a bit more hands on with. Jewellery caught my interest, so I started up Sleek Silver. Then I just kept getting more ideas, more people wanting to work with me, and life just took off. I started up Saxon, Glass Slipper, G Baby B, X's and O's, Cold Kisses, Black Moose, Switch Witch, and Golden Moon."

"I just… then how have I never heard of you?"

"Well it's not like I write my name on everything, that's what a brand is for. And how many high-end fashion lines are there around here that would have photos of me on their walls, displaying the latest trend on the catwalk. If you looked into brands, probably found my name but… Leah I didn't want to be found. If I did, I would have put my name out there, but I didn't, so I hid behind Disgustingly Pink, Sleek Silver, X's and O's-"

"But if I had worked it out, then I could have brought you home. Where you should have been all along." Her voice holds hurt mixed with frustration.

"Or scared me off, so I never came back here again. Leah stuff happens for a reason, so people can find their own way," I say looking her in the eyes, raising my voice a bit. Even though I know it won't help get my point through to her, I can't help it.

"Ava you don't know what you did when you left here," Leah's voice raises slightly. As well as tears of hurt appearing in her eyes, even though her face is covered with anger and frustration.

"I did what was best for everyone!" Even as kids if I spent too much time talking over life with Leah we would start off happy, go from that to sad, then happy, frustrated, angry, sad, then if one of us hadn't already stormed off we could get back to happy, or at least talking.

"No you did what was best for yourself! You hurt everyone," she says, while swatting a few tears off her cheeks with the back of her hands.

"If I stayed, I would have hurt people more. Do you think being the scandal family of the town with the slut daughter that got nuked up to a dead guy, would have been better? There was already enough trouble with making ends meet, let alone adding another mouth to feed into the mix. I would have been working triple shifts on whatever dead-end job I could get, for the rest of my miserable life and still have bills coming out of my ears, and a kid I couldn't provide for-"

"Money isn't important," she says, with hand gestures that express her annoyance.

"Leah, I know my leaving hurt you, but me staying here would have hurt you even more," I say, running my hands over my face, muffling my voice a bit.

"We would have found a way…" she sighs.

"No, we wouldn't have. And what is done is done, the only reason to dwell on the past is when you have no future to look at, and we have a long and happy future to look at now," I say calmly, looking back to the sea and sky.

We go into silence for a few moments, the air between us cooling off. I sigh, then ask "So how the hell are you, Miss Leah Bree Clearwater, engaged to Paul Lahote?" Leah's face cracks into a huge grin, her eyes lighting up. She chuckles and flops back on her towel.

"How the hell was that not the first question you asked?" she giggles.

"Must have slipped my mind?" I smile. "So, details please. Last I heard you talking about Paul he was the scum of all evil and bad in the world."

"Okay, umm… Well I guess I never really hated him, just… probably just pissed he never looked at me like, I don't know, like he did the other girls." Leah shrugs, still lying down. Out of the corner of my eye I see her naturally dark cheeks go a bit red, as she drapes her arms over her eyes.

"What? Like a piece of meat?" I snarl a bit. I know what Paul was like, he uses to hang out with John a fair bit back in the day, and I heard of his _accomplishments_ , many times.

"No just, well at least they got his attention," she mumbles.

"So what did you have to do to get his attention? Last night if you weren't locked in his arms he couldn't look away from you any longer than ten seconds." I smirk when I see her bite her bottom lip nervously.

"Nothing really, just one day he came to school and saw me differently," she shrugs.

"Oh yeah… Can I get a little more detail than that?"

"Well it was Tuesday, the second of M-"

"Okay a little less detail."

"Well I was just standing at my locker, grabbing my books for the first classes that day, and out of nowhere someone tapped me lightly on the shoulder. I turned around to see Paul, he had this stupid look on his face, like he was seeing me for the first time…" she speaks wistfully, words filled with such happiness and love it makes my own heart swell with sweetness.

"Finally noticed what he'd been missing." She giggles at me, lifting her foot and pushing it into my shoulder playfully, only making me rock slightly.

"Yeah, I guess so… Well he asked me out, caught me right off guard, I thought it was just a rude prank so I said no and told him to go ask one of his sluts. He looked so fucking sad, my heart felt like it would break if I kept looking at him, so I hightailed it off to class," she smiles to her own thoughts. "Then he, like, kept appearing wherever I was, it kind of scared the shit out of me."

"Wow, don't think mum read us that fairy tale. The princess and the stalker. Nope, doesn't ring a bell." She kicks at me again, laughing away.

"Well I ignored him for a while, then it started to get right on my nerves so I asked him what it would take to get rid of him. One date, he wanted one date with me. I gave in and said yes, not caring if it all ended up a big joke on me, I just needed to get him off my mind, he was already affecting my schoolwork and job at the diner."

"So with the rock on your finger, I'm guessing the date went well." It feels nice to sister-talk, Max try's her best but it's not the same as this.

"Yes…" she smiles. "That next weekend Paul took me out to a restaurant in Seattle, and it didn't look cheap either. It was really fun, and he was so easy to talk to, so not the same Paul I thought he was. On the ride home he told me this really sweet story of how he didn't pay me any attention because he was scared of hurting me and stuff like that. After that I didn't care if it was a joke and if it would backfire on me, I asked him on another date, and well the rest is just a part of history…"

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	12. Authors Note! Please read!

**Author Note**

 ** _#Okay, so I'm sorry this isn't a new chapter, I had really hoped to have another chapter up by now but sadly I have writers block!#_**

 ** _#So I'm looking for someone to help give me advice on my ideas. I already have a friend spellchecking for me but she knows nothing about twilight so I need someone to talk to that does!#_**

 ** _#So please, if you're interested in giving me some feedback on some probable sneak peeks of where the story will go, Privet Message me!#_**

 ** _#And if any of you have ideas of what you think would happen in the next chapter PM me or review, would really appreciate it!#_**

 _ **#Hope you have a nice day/or night, and like the story so far!#**_


	13. Hummingbird locked in my heart

**_#Day 2_**

Chapter 12

Ava POV

We walk into Kelly's Diner, Leah holding open the glass door for Chaska and me to walk through. It's a little past one o'clock. We decided to leave the beach and get lunch at the best diner in La Push, maybe even the world, in my opinion. Kelly's Diner. It's like taking a step back into the sixties. Black and white checked floors, red leather seats, booths lining the walls, crisp white walls, an old jukebox over in the far corner playing Roy Orbison on loop, and a great family atmosphere.

It all looks the same as I remember, even Kelly - a short, yet strong native woman in her early forties. She has stern grey eyes, and her black hair up in a constant bun. Kelly Call, Embry's mother, is the owner of this establishment. She has owned it for as long as I can remember, always hard at work whether it's in the kitchen or at the tables, never taking a break when there's a job to be done.

Kelly had looked up from behind the cash register when the small bell on the door rang, announcing our entries. Her face remained emotionless for a few moments as she looked me up and down, then the corners of her lips turned up and her eyes lit up with amusement.

"Well Ava, aren't you a sight to behold?" Kelly mused, stepping out from behind the counter. She's dressed in the Diner uniform - a simple black polo shirt with 'Kelly's Diner' written across the back, with red three-quarter pants, a white apron, and black sneakers.

"It's nice to see you too Kelly," I smiled wistfully at the woman that was like a second mother to me.

"And when my boy had come home late last night mumbling all about you I was scared he lost his mind." Kelly chuckles, as she walking a few steps closer. "Oh my," she smiles at Chaska before looking back at me and saying. "Well Ava, looks like you've been busy. You got a man to go along with that kid?" Kelly can be a bit nosey and straight-forward sometimes, but her heart's always in the right place.

…

My eleven-year-old self sits on one of the half-a-dozen bar stools, dressed in old blue jeans and a red sweat shirt that's too big for me. I lean onto the serving counter and watch quietly as Kelly counts up the day's diner earnings. Like most Saturdays, I spent the day with Jake, Quil and Embry, and now I was going to have a sleepover at the Call's place.

The last customers had left the diner a while ago and now as the clock strikes eleven the last of the staff walk out the back door, leaving only Kelly, me, and Embry… But he has fallen asleep on the stool next to me, leaning on the counter, using his crossed arms as a pillow. He looks so peaceful whilst off in his own dream world, a sweet smile on his lips as his soft snores fill the air… I didn't even realise I had been staring at him until I heard Kelly start chuckling.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked over at Kelly. "What?" I asked as heat rose to my cheeks.

Kelly smiled at me slyly as she shut the cash register draw. "Young love, so cute." She chuckles again as I bit on my bottom lip.

"I…" I huff. "Kelly, what does it feel like to be in love?" She stops her chuckling at my question but still kept a smile on her lips.

"It's different for everyone…" she says softly. "What do you think it should feel like?"

"…You'll laugh," I say shyly, looking down at my hands.

"I promise I won't laugh," she says, leaning forward on the counter and placing her hands over mine, comfortingly.

"Well… like," I hesitate, taking another look at Embry to see he's still fast asleep before speaking, "like there's a hummingbird locked in my heart making it beat really, really fast and, and an army of frogs hopping around in my stomach making me feel really nervous, and jumpy. And a swarm of bees in my head, not letting me think straight and… and leeches, yeah leeches sucking the blood from my legs, making my knees go weak yeah… Yeah, yeah that sounds really dumb," I sigh, looking back at Embry's sleeping face.

"No Ava, that is not dumb," Kelly assures, shaking her head. "That would have to be… the sweetest thing I've ever heard," Kelly says slightly pouting. "I wish I felt like that…"

"No you don't," I whisper pulling my hands from hers and crossing my arms over my chest. "Because it really hurts sometimes too, like there's a cat scratching at my heart, trying to get the hummingbird. Like the frogs are beating me from the inside out, like the bees are stinging my brain, and the leeches have sucked me dry of all warmth." A few tears escape my eyes as I speak. "Why doesn't he love me?" I whimper looking back at Embry.

"Oh Ava, such a dreamer," Kelly smiles softly, her eyes watery with unshed tears. "Embry's eleven years old and a boy, he doesn't know what love means yet, and boys are slow learners, so I hate to say it Ava, but you'll be waiting a while till he feels the same…"

I hesitate for a few moments, taking a few calming breaths and wiping my eyes of tears, before whispering, "I'll wait," in a soft, stuttering voice.

…

"No." I answer Kelly's question softly as Leah takes Chaska over to one of the many empty booths.

"Sorry Ava, you always deserved so much more from this world," she sighs.

"We both did, but decided to take the longer road to ruling the world instead. Got to give everyone else a fair shot I guess," I grin with a dry chuckle.

"Oh Ava, such a dreamer…"

 ** _#Sorry its short but I got really stuck on what to say, so the next chapter will skip the rest of day 2 and most of day 3#_**

 ** _#THANK YOU! to all the amazing people out there that are following and have favourite this story, means a lot#_**

 ** _#And for anyone that's interested I have started another Twilight story called_** **Heaven is waiting _(Jacob imprint story). It's about Sam's little sister Fay, and how she spent the first sixteen years of her life being abuse in more ways then one. And how she found her own personal heaven#_**

 ** _#Please follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, I love to know what you think!)#_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	14. I hope I can walk away

**_#Day 3#_**

Chapter 13

 _Ava POV (And in case you don't understand it, this first part is her remembering)_

 _His soft brown eyes went hard with anger, his face going sharp and rigid. Before that day I had never seen that side of John, he was always happy, funny, sweet. Maybe a little bit cocky and overprotective, but never this angry, and definitely not at me._

 _"Please John, you have to listen to me, this is for the best. We don't need it in our lives, it will ruin our futures. We won't be able to go to college, won't get good jobs, but have to work every second of every day just to keep our heads above water… Don't you want to make something of yourself John? This is a mistake, that-" My words turned into a short scream of pain as my head spun and I fell to my bedroom floor with a burning sensation covering the right side of my face. I cupped my hands over my throbbing cheek, not fully comprehending what just happened. John had… John had slapped me!?_

 _"This is not a mistake; you're talking about our child!" he yelled as he towered over me, making me scoot back until my back hit the bed frame. I hated to show fear, to feel weak, but right now I was terrified, shaking like a leaf, tears streaming down my cheeks, bottom lip quivering._

 _"J-john," I stuttered._

 _"Shut up!" he roared, his body starting to shake violently. "You just, you, Ava, how could you even think that?!"_

 _"You said it was my choice," my voice was quiet but by the fire in his darkening eyes I could tell he heard me just fine._

 _He was silent for a few moments but he was still shaking all over and holding his hands into such tight fists that his knuckles were as white as snow. "I thought you would make the right choice," he growled._

 _"There is no right choice," I hissed, a bit of anger building up with in me, erasing some of the fear._

 _"Well there is a wrong one!"_

 _"It's not like this will affect you anyway, at any time you could just walk away and I would be the one left with a kid I didn't want!" I yelled, standing up just to get knocked back to the floor._

 _"You don't always get what you want you spoilt bitch!"_

 _"Get the hell out of my house!" I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me._

 _He wanted to say something else, I could just see it by the way his jaw clenched and unclenched, but he didn't. He just shook his head, and scoffed in disgust at me before storming out of my bedroom, slamming the front door on his way out. I heard the engine of his truck rev twice before speeding down the driveway, and… and that was the last time I saw John._

 _… (time skip back to present day)_

The light rain that falls from the gloomy grey clouds mixes with the tears which overflow my eyelids at the torturous memory that keeps replaying over and over again in my mind. I sit on the damp green grass leaning back on a tree trunk. There's a road in front of me and beyond that a large rocky slope that drops off after a hundred feet into the rugged ocean.

I've been here a while now; I had woken up much like the day before and had decided since I had no further plans for the Sunday, a walk would be nice. Chaska had decided to stay home with Mum, which I'm glad of now having seen where my walk took me.

To the average set of eyes this stretch of road may look no different than the next, and to them it isn't. But to me, this will always be the place where John's foot got too heavy on the accelerator… Where his truck tires lost grip… Where his truck, along with him, smashed through the railing and plummeted to the sea below… To be found hung up in the rocks by early morning fishermen the next day.

I don't want to be here, to feel this pain and have my mind replay my last talk with John. But I can't seem to move, to look away from the openness before me. My black tights and purple cotton jacket have been soaked through with the rain. My muscles have become cold and stiff, I kind of feel like a statue here, or more correctly a water feature by the streams that run down my cheeks.

The sound of an engine reaches my ears, quickly getting louder. A few seconds pass before a blue truck drives around the corner and flies by me. I don't pay mind to it but my ears prick to the sound of squeaking breaks then the engine turning off. There's the sound of a door being shut before a familiar male voice speaks loudly, "It's not good for you to be out here Ava…"

I let my eyes drift to the left to see Sam standing behind his blue truck ten or so meters down the road. "…" I open my mouth to say something but no words come out. I sigh before shutting my mouth and looking back at the openness. I don't hear Sam walk closer but I instantly notice the heat that feels like it's radiating off him, making my cold skin feel numb.

He takes a seat next to me and for many moments we stay in silence. "You blame yourself for his death, don't you…?" I let his question linger in the brisk air for a while before nodding.

"…Yeah…"

"Don't Ava, it's not your fault… Do you hear me?"

I sigh, "But it is-"

"-Not! It is not your fault."

"Sam-"

"No Ava," he says, out of the corner of my eye I see him turning his upper body to look at me. "John drove himself off that cliff, not you."

"I was the one that made him angry, I was so stupid. I let him walk away, I told him to get the hell out, and he did," I sob, almost hysterical. Sam wraps an arm around my shoulders and pulls me to his side. "If… If I just… Just- I shouldn't have told him, I should have just dealt with it myself. I'm an awful person… I…" A new wave of sobs starts, making my words tearful mumbles.

Sam hushes me when I try to speak again. "…What did you tell him?" Sam asks softly, calmly, not a trace of anger in his voice, why isn't he angry at me?

"I-I decided getting rid of the baby would be the best option… God I'm awful, awful, awful, awful," I mutter, running an angry hand over my hair.

"So Chaska is John's kid, huh?"

"I-I should have-e told you sooner, I-I-I just didn't know how-w," I stutter, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hands.

"Ava… look at me," I tilt my head to look at Sam, I'm taken off guard by the large smile that crosses his face. "I'm not angry at you Ava, I don't blame you. No one's angry at you, no one blames you, because there's nothing to blame. My brother was the stupid idiot that never deserved someone like you."

"I'm awful."

"...Why do you think you're so awful?" he asks.

"…" I bite down on my bottom lip and shake my thoughts from my head with anger and guilt.

"…Do you love your son?"

"Of course I do," I say without hesitation, looking Sam straight in the eye, then back across the road. "But I can't stop thinking of my life without him. And I hate myself for that," I sigh, shaking my head.

"You're human Ava, sure you will think about your life and what it could have been, but take a second to see what it is… You've had your fair share of pain, now it's your time to be happy… Now come on, let me take you home," Sam said, standing up. He holds a hand out to me and I take the offered help to stand as my legs fill with pins and needles.

I stare back to the edge for a few moments, until Sam lightly tugs on my hand, making me look away… So I walk away, following Sam back to his truck. Next time I come by here I hope I can walk away.

 ** _#THANK YOU! to all the amazing people out there that are following and have favourite this story, means a lot#_**

 ** _#And for anyone that's interested I have started another Twilight story called_** **Heaven is waiting _(Jacob imprint story). It's about Sam's little sister Fay, and how she spent the first sixteen years of her life being abuse in more ways then one. And how she found her own personal heaven#_**

 ** _#Please follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, I love to know what you think!)#_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	15. She loves him

**_#Day 4#_**

Chapter 14

Ava POV

I'm curled up on the sofa, dressed in a black hoody and tights, wrapped warmly in an old patchwork quilt. Chaska is lying in the centre of the living room, watching cartoons as Mum starts to make lunch. I'm thinking about how this would have to be the quietest Monday I have had in a long, long time. But, of course, that's the moment my phone starts to ring.

I dig around under the blankets to find my phone and pull it out to see a selfie of Max plastered across the screen. I groan, "Sorry," I answer groggily on the sixth ring, "I'm dead right now, can I call you back later?"

"Oh you're dead, very funny Ava," Max snickers. "Now get your ass out of bed!" she snaps in my ear.

"My ass is out of bed thank you very much, and was sitting comfortably on the sofa before you called," I huff, shuffling out from under the blanket, and swinging my legs off the sofa.

"Oh boo-hoo, do you want me to fly over there and rub your feet for you, maybe make you a nice cup of tea?"

"Well, now that you mention it, that would be really nice," I chuckle as I walk towards the front door.

"No, no, no, no, no, you my dear need to get back to reality right now. Get rid of that holiday brain and let's talk some business," I can hear and imagine Max clapping her hands together on the other end of the line.

"Fine," I huff, shrugging on a large jacket as I go to sit on the porch swing, Max talking away in my ear.

Embry POV

I am finishing up my morning patrol, and I'm feeling restless. I have spent the whole time thinking about Ava. Her smile, her laugh, how I can see her again. We hadn't got to talk at the bonfire so all I really know about her life is what I hear her tell Leah and the other imprints. She's been living in New York City; she owns some businesses but didn't go into too much detail about them. By the end of the night I had noticed there was no ring on her finger, so she's probably not married but still probably is not a definitely, and that's one part my mind keeps repeating, again and again and again. The kid, the phone call on the beach, the lack of contact over the years, what if she has a rich husband about to swoop in on his private jet and take her away?

My wolf both growls and whimpers at the thought.

 _When were you going to tell me you imprinted on Ava?_ I freeze as Seth's thought crosses my mind. I hadn't even felt him phase; my mind goes blank with surprise.

 _I was just waiting for the right time_. I think loudly trying to block out the voice in the back of my mind saying, _I wasn't sure how you would react._

Seth apparently hears my thought still and he laughs. _Embry what did you think I was going to do, rip your ears off?_ Seth asks, still laughing. I can see him through the trees and start to walk towards him, my head held low in embarrassment.

 _Well you threatened to do that to Paul_ , I say, and Seth rolls his eyes at me.

 _That was Paul, and I didn't follow through with the threat._ Seth says just as Paul phases in for his patrol.

 _Wasn't much of a threat Pup_ , Paul scoffs in his head. _What are you to doing on patrol? Embry your shift was over like ten minutes ago and Seth you're not on until this afternoon._

 _Nothing, just on the way home for lunch,_ Seth says phasing and tossing on a pair of cut-offs. "Come on Em, let's go see Ava."

Ava POV

"You poor thing," I smile into the phone as I push myself back and forth on the porch swing. The business talk was settled a while ago and now Max is just complaining to me about life.

"Honey I have been up since four this morning working, you should be grateful. God the bags under my eyes, it looks like I've been up all night online shopping," Max says dramatically from the other end of the phone.

"Mmm… Well that's just not good enough," I sigh looking down at my nails.

"Don't you dare fake pity me girly…" I giggle. I look up from my nails and am a little caught off guard as Seth and Embry walk out of the forest. How are they not freezing to death? I wonder and open my mouth to yell at them to go put some more clothes on before they freeze to death but Max asks "So how's the little man doing?" Both Embry and Seth wave hello as they walk up the stairs and I wave back before answering Max.

Embry's POV

Seth goes straight to the kitchen when we reach his house but I stand in the doorway of the Clearwater's residence, eavesdropping on Ava's conversation. I know it's wrong, but her silvery voice and soft giggles call to my inner wolf. "Oh he's great," Ava says and I resist the urge to look out the door and take a glimpse at the breathtaking smile that surely covers her lips. She pauses to listen to whoever's on the other end of the phone then giggles. "Will do… Love you too Ma-" My inner wolf feels like it's just been hit by a car as my imprint tells another man she loves him, she loves him! My blood begins to boil and I start shaking with rage.

Ava's POV

"Well give him a big hug for me and remind him his Aunt Max still loves him."

"Will do."

"Love you Ava, bye."

"Love you too Max, bey-bey." By the time my finger hits the end button Embry is marching out the front door, down the steps two at time and towards the forest, all while shaking with a furious and pained look on his face. "Embry!" I call out after him, standing with concern.

He doesn't look back at me as he starts to run into the forest, out of sight. I want to run after him, make sure he's alright but stop myself. I drop my phone back in my pocket and quickly walk back into the house. Mum and Seth are both staring out the window before I walk in and their eyes snap to meet mine.

"What happened?" I ask. Mum just shrugs and looks back out the window. Her face looks a little shocked but deep in thought.

"Umm, I'll go find him, check he's okay," Seth says quickly, jogging out of the room and I move to the window to watch him run into the same spot of forest where Embry had gone.

Embrey's POV 

_She loves him! She loves him! She loves him!_ I phased as soon as I got into the forest now I'm running, I don't know where to but I don't care. _She loves him! SHE LOVES HIM!_ My mind screams.

 _Who loves who?_ Paul asks.

 _Embry calm down!_ Seth says, as he phases and starts running to catch up with me.

 _How can I calm down, she loves him! She loves him!_

 _Who?!_ Paul yells annoyed.

 _Ava said she loves him, she said she loves him!_

 _Ava. What's wrong with her saying that?_ Paul asks, with a few images of Ava at the bonfire flashing through his mind and before Seth or I can answer he starts to put two and two together. _You imprinted on Ava!_ It wasn't a question but I still nod my head as it fills with images and muddled feelings of when I first saw her, when she took my breath away and became my world. I slide to a stop and howl my sorrows at the cloudy sky.

Ava POV 

I go rigid in my chair as a wolf howls in the distance. It's a sad sorrowful cry that makes me worry even more. Embry and Seth are out in those woods, what if they get hurt, if the wolf attacked them?! I try calling their mobiles again, but neither answer.

Paul's POV

"You're joking," Leah says as she paces the living room. As soon as I got home Leah asked what was going on. I was almost two hours later than usual and she had heard Embry's howls from earlier in the day. So I sat down and told her all I knew, that Embry had imprinted on Ava at the bonfire and was now upset from overhearing Ava on the phone tell someone "I love you" and stuff like that. Oh and how he completely ignored me when I tried telling him the person on the phone was probably just her receptionist. (AN: Paul knows about Max because Ava told Leah on their day together and Leah tells Paul everything – just in case you were wondering how Paul knows about Max. So Paul also knows Chaska is John's kid but as many times as he tells Embry, he would go off on another rant and not listen, and Paul gave up and left before he killed Embry for being so stupid.)

"What's so bad? You were worried about her leaving and now well after this situation is fixed up - Ava will fall in love with Embry, they'll get married and have a big happy family," I say. (AN: Oh how wrong you are Paul, hehehe ;)

"No, I mean yeah I want her to stay, but I don't as well. I want her to have the option, to be all she can be. She's already soaring in this world, I don't want her wings to get cut," Leah stops walking to wipe tears from her eyes. I stand and pull her into my arms.

"Everything's going to be okay, Leah. If Ava didn't want to stay here I'm sure Embry would let her go, he just wants her to be happy. And as soon as he gets his head out of his ass he'll see that."

"Yeah… yeah," Leah stutters cutely. "Everything's going to turn out okay… Is Embry still out there?"

"Yeah, Seth was going to get Sam when I left, see if he can bark some sense into the idiot."

 ** _#THANK YOU! to all the amazing people out there that are following and have favourite this story, means a lot#_**

 ** _#And for anyone that's interested I have started another Twilight story called_** **Heaven is waiting _(Jacob imprint story). It's about Sam's little sister Fay, and how she spent the first sixteen years of her life being abuse in more ways then one. And how she found her own personal heaven#_**

 ** _#Please follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, I love to know what you think!)#_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	16. Standing in the hallway

**_#PLEASE READ IMPORTENT AN: If you haven't just started reading this story I have changed Ava's_** _ **receptionist**_ ** _from Ryan (male) to Max (female). I went back and updated the chapters but don't feel you have to go re-read them, just remember Ryan is now Max._**

 ** _#This story has reached 12,000 views! Thank you all!_**

 ** _#Day 9_**

Chapter 15

Word of me being home travelled fast; mostly because Mum called everyone and told them, but oh well. People came from far and wide; aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, friends, and friends of friends. Everyone gathered for a Saturday lunch, to _celebrate_ my homecoming. I've been out and said hello to everyone, gotten hugs and kisses from them; but now I'm hiding in my bedroom. I don't know how I got here; I think I was coming to get a jacket or something, and just stayed. I peek through the curtains to look at all the people chatting, eating, drinking, having fun. Chaska is playing tag with some of the younger kids, having a great time.

"Why are you hiding in here?"

I gasp in surprise, having not heard Embry enter the room. He stands in the doorway dressed in cut-off jeans and a black t-shirt.

"I umm, I'm not hiding, just came to get my jacket."

"It takes you almost two hours to pick a jacket?" he smiles, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"It hasn't-" I look down at my watch and sigh. "I guess I just got distracted."

"If you get distracted again you'll miss the whole party," Embry says pushing off the door frame with his shoulder and taking a step into the room.

"It's just so-" I stop myself, shaking my head. "Never mind."

"It's just so? So what? I want to know," he smiles wider, chuckling slightly as he walks across the room to stand next to me.

I pause, biting my lip as I think over what to say without sounding completely "…Stupid. It's so stupid the way they're all acting."

"How do you want them to act?" he asks, looking behind the curtain, out to the backyard like I had been. It's a good question; one I don't really have an answer for though.

"…I don't know, but not… I don't know," I sigh sitting down on the bed. "It just feels like… like they're treating me like I just came back from college or something like that," I shrug.

Embry takes a seat next to me and we stay in silence for several long moments before he asks, "Do you already regret coming back?"

"No." I shake my head instantly.

"Do you regret leaving?"

"…No," I shake my head again, but not as fast this time.

"What do you regret then?" he asks with a serious look on his face; his smile vanishing.

"How do you know I regret anything?" I ask, looking up through my eyelashes at his face.

Embry smiles again, "You just have that look on your face."

"You always could read me better than a book," I smile, and draw in a long breath. "I-I regret that I didn't come back sooner. I could have easily come back months ago… but I didn't. And because of that I missed out on even more family events and just… just happy times." Embry reaches out and takes my hand in his.

"You're here now," he says putting emphasis on the 'now'. "That's all that matters." We sit in silence for a while. It's not an awkward type of silence, just silence that doesn't need to be filled. "Do you know when you're going back?" Embry asks, his voice now sounding a bit pained.

"I umm… I'm not."

"Huh?" he asks, his eyebrows furrowing together, confused.

"After everyone leaves I'm telling Mum that I'm moving back," I say.

"Really?" His whole face lights up as I nod.

"Yes. I've just started selling everything. Just sold my perfume line, X's and O's on Monday. Another three companies are going up for market in the next week. I cashed in all the shares I had in… well in almost everything. My apartment in New York is up for sale and I have Max trying to find me a place to buy in La Push."

At the mention of Max Embry's hand – that I had forgotten was cupping my own – goes tense, and I hear him mutter something that I can't quite understand before he asks, "Max is your receptionist, right?"

"Yeah, she's really great, I don't know where I would be without her," I smile.

"She?" he asks.

"Yeah," I nod. "Max is short for Maxine… but she hates that name with a passion." I laugh and Embry relaxes again.

Embry POV

My day couldn't get any better! Ava just told me she's staying in La Push and to put icing on the cake, the Max person I thought was her boyfriend – even though Sam, Paul, Seth and everyone else tried to tell me otherwise – is her receptionist and girlfriend… girlfriend as in a girl that is her friend not girlfriend… even though I'm okay with that lifestyle; I think I would have preferred her having a girlfriend to a boyfriend. But I'm getting way off track, Ava is single and staying in La Push!

"What are you two doing in here?" Both our heads snap towards the doorway where Leah stands, a tight smirk on her lips.

"We're just talking," Ava says.

"Oh yeah… and why can't you do that outside with everyone else?" the older Clearwater sister asks.

"We just got distracted, I guess," I say, letting go of Ava's hand and standing up.

"Sure," Leah says, with a sarcastic tone, rolling her eyes. "Just get back out there Ava, people are starting to leave and want to say goodbye."

"Oh," Ava's face drops a little. She stands up though, straightening out her red blouse before walking by Leah and out the door. I go to follow her but Leah steps in my way.

"Not so fast Embry, I want to get one thing straight before you go chasing after my little sister like a lost puppy. She is-"

"She is my imprint, she is everything to me now, my first thought in the morning and my last wish at night. She is beautiful, smart, strong, and a mother to an amazing little boy I would be happy to call my own." Leah's eyes look at me wide with shock but I continue, "Ava was my best friend, my first love, and the last person I ever thought I would get a second chance to make amends with. I will never hurt her, and I'll do everything I can to make her happy, even if it kills me." I step around Leah, but don't lose eye contact with her, showing her I mean every word.

"Umm… I was going to say take things slow... But I think it's too late for that." Leah gulps, and her eyes show fear as they drift past me. I slowly turn around to find Ava standing in the hallway. She looks from me to Leah, confused. Leah and I are both frozen in place as Ava starts to speak.

"I was just umm- getting my jacket?"

 _ **#PLEASE READ: Did YOU like Ava over hearing Leah and Embry? I'm not sure if I liked it or not, really that just came too me at the end when I was trying to get a few more words. If three people review they don't like it I will change it to just Leah saying "...I was going to say take things slow, but that works too." And Ava staying in the dark about how Embry really feels about her.**_

 ** _#THANK YOU! To all the amazing people out there that have been following and have favourite this story, even thought it has taken me forever to post this chapter._**

 ** _#Please follow, favorite and RIVEWE (good or bad, I love to know what you think!) I don't know what will happen in the next chapter so your reviews really help me!_**

 ** _#Hope you have a nice day/ night, thank you so much for reading!#_**


	17. Clouds above

Sometimes the rain clouds part to show a rainbow. But sooner or later the clouds will block the rainbow out once more and then all you will be able to do is stand back and watch the rain poor. -MyWorldDoesn'tEnd this is the calm before the storm.

#Day 16

Chapter 16

Ava POV

 _'Ava was my best friend, my first love, and the last person I ever thought I would get a second chance to make amends with. I will never hurt her, and I'll do everything I can to make her happy, even if it kills me.'_

Embry's words have run around and around in my mind on an endless track all week, followed by a never-ending list of questions taunting my brain to bits. _Did he still think of me as a friend? I was his first love? How much did he think about me after I left? He said he would never hurt me but he did? He wants to make me happy? Even if it kills him? Why did he say all those things? Did he mean it all? Why can't life be easy? Why can't anyone answer my questions? Why do I want people to answer questions I'm too afraid to ask aloud?_

It is nearing lunch time and I am yet to leave my room. I've been like this all week. I don't feel like eating, can hardly get to sleep anymore and the smallest of noises have been putting me right on edge. Mum say I must be coming down with a flu of some sorts. Leah has been keeping her distance from me; whenever I call she claims to be busy and I can't help but doubt the truth behind her words. I can't remember the last time I even saw Seth. Chaska comes to see me now and then, asking why I won't play with him.

I'm starting to feel like I'm on my death bed… _Do something!_ My mind yells. _Just do something!_

Before I can even think my actions over I'm out the front door dressed for a run. I don't think, I just do. _Just do something._ I start to run alongside the road. My legs take me where my mind chooses without me really thinking about it. The rain starts to fall from the dark clouds above, but I don't stop.

Within minutes I find myself walking up the front steps of a house I've never seen before. It's well guarded by the forest, walled with dark timber that stands two stories high. The front door is wide open letting me see the gathering of people inside, all of which I recognise. But only one of them gets my attention. It's as though my subconscious brought me right to him.

"We need to talk," I say looking directly at the one and only Embry Call.

Sam's POV

Embry marches back and forth in the living room; as Emily, Quil, Claire, Jared, Kim, Collin, Jake and I eat lunch around the dining room table. Emily sends another worrying glance over her shoulder at him. I know she's worried about him, we all are, but it still hurts me to see her like this. Embry's been on edge since Ava ran away from him after walking in on him and Leah's little heart-to-heart last weekend. "Embry can you come and eat something?" I ask, calmly, even though I'm becoming angered by the way he's making my imprint worry.

"It's been a week-" I hear him mutter. He's been doing that a lot lately; muttering to himself like a crazy person.

"Yes Embry, it's been a week, and-" he cuts Emily off.

"And she's been avoiding me like the plague," he huffs in frustration, raking his fingers through his hair.

"You don't know how much she heard?" Claire asks.

"As I said every other time, NO!" Embry isn't shaking yet but his movements are twitchy and being closely watched by the other wolves in the room.

"Chill dude," Quil says, but second guesses his words as Embry's glare turns on him.

"How bad could it really be?" Kim asks across the table.

"Well for starters she could have heard him say, _She is my imprint, she is everything to me now, my first thought in the morning and my last wish at night,_ " Jake says in a mocking voice.

"Oh-oh what about, _She was my best friend, my first love, and the last person I ever thought I would get a second chance to make amends with,_ " Collin laughs kicking back in his chair.

"Well that's actually kind of sweet," smiles Kim.

"I think, _I will never hurt her, and I'll do everything I can to make her happy, even if it kills me-_ " Quil smirks, "was coming off just a bit too strong, and really needy."

"Shut up!" Embry growls through clenched teeth.

"Embry go outside," I say in an alpha tone, finally stepping in. He does as instructed, not like he's got much of a choice. I stand and follow him out. "You got to get a grip man," I say sliding shut the front door behind us, even though it won't do anything to stop wolves' super hearing.

"How the hell can I?!" he roars, shaking violently all over.

"For starters, you can calm down. You're that on edge that if you saw her right now you would likely phase too close to her. You would hurt her before you even knew what was happening…" Old memories rip into my mind, tearing at the happiness I had built with Emily. I know it was years ago, and Emily never held my actions against me, but the guilt still lingers deep in my mind. The thought of that happening to another imprint is something no one in the pack would ever want.

Embry freezes, pausing before whispering, "I wouldn't do that. I could never do that."

"I said the same thing once," my words hang in the air as we stare at one another. "Now go back inside, eat something, be normal. And she will come back to you when she's ready. Sooner or later the imprint pull will bring her back. Then you just have to try not to stuff it up… again."

We walk back inside to see everyone pretending like they hadn't heard our conversation. I retake my seat beside Emily and she places a hand on mine. Embry sits down at the table but before he can take a bit of the food reserved for him my advanced hearing catches onto something outside. The others must hear it too because they all look towards the front door at the same time. Light footsteps galosh in the puddles outside before Ava appears. Apparently sooner or later was a lot sooner than I thought it would be. Ava barges through the door dressed in running clothes damp from the rain. Her eyes animatedly lock with Embry's.

"We need to talk."

Embry's POV

I walk along the tree line surrounding Sam and Emily's house, Ava right beside me. She looks everywhere but at me.

"Why did you want to talk to me?" I ask as we near our third lap around the house without a word.

She sighs, draws a deep breath then lets it go before speaking quickly, yet softly at the same time. "I don't know, I just needed... I don't know any more." We stop walking and she finally looks at me. "I've been thinking of things to say to you all week, and now I just... I can't think of anything."

"Were they bad things or good things?" I asks with a smirk. My heart beats faster just knowing Ava's been thinking about me all week.

"Both... Embry I..." she trails off. She shakes her head, as though dismissing an idea; probably rethinking something too much.

"You can say anything Ava, I won't get mad." I don't know how Sam lived with himself after he hurt Emily but I know if I ever did something like that to Ava it would be the end of me. She runs a hand down her face, wiping away droplets of rain that have stuck to her skin.

"Willyougoout with... me." It takes me a second to understand the start of her sentence and then when I do I have to bit the inside of my mouth to stop myself from smiling like an idiot.

"Yeah, sure that would be great." She lets out a relieved sigh and lets me see her beautiful smile. "Are you free tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, whenever suits you is fine," she nods.

"Okay, I'll pick you up at six tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds great," she grins. "See you then, then." She steps away from me, turning towards the driveway.

"Yeah," I grin. She waves bye and I watch as she jogs away up the driveway and out of my sight. Eventually, once Ava is long out of sight, I go back to the house.

"What'd she say, what'd she say?" Claire asks, eagerly jumping away from the window she was watching through.

"She-she…" A smile spreads across my face and I laugh. "She wants to go out with me tomorrow."

Jacob's POV

As the others discus good date ideas with Embry, I pull Sam aside. "What is it, Jacob?" he asks, looking away from the table of talkative people to me.

"We need to talk," I say nodding to the front door. He follows my lead, understanding it's not something I think the others should hear. We go outside and into the forest far enough that we can't hear the conversations going on at Sam's house and they shouldn't be able to hear ours.

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Sam asks, breaking the silence.

"The way Embry's acting…?" I start but trail off, running a hand through my hair.

"It's more than just being away from his imprint," Sam says, confirming my thoughts.

"It's reminding me of the way Brandon use to act with Bree; always on edge like he knew something was going to happen," I state and Sam nods, agreeing.

"Yeah… Then she got caught in a rip when swimming and almost drowned. It was like Brandon had a pre-warning instinct that something bad was going to happen to his imprint."

"It makes me think Ava's in danger," I say.

"There's not much we can do besides keep an eye on her. If Embry finds out it's likely to push him off the deep end," Sam says looking back in the direction we came from.

"I hope something happens soon. Not to sound mean or anything, I really don't want Ava to get hurt, but I want Embry back…" I trail off.

"Yeah he's getting on my nerves to."

Dream scene- Ava POV; (AN: Funny fact, I wrote this dream scene before I even started this story, it was kind of the starting point to this whole story and I think this will be the last chance I have to post it before it doesn't really make sense. So hope it makes sense and works with and not agents my ideas to come.)

I run through the dense green forest, the rising sun lighting my way through the winding trees. I am dressed in a crisp white sundress but no shoes, allowing me to feel every stick and sharp rock on the forest floor. The only sound I can hear is a male voice yelling. " _Run! Run! RUN!"_

The male voice is familiar… all too familiar. It's been over three years and he still haunts me as I sleep, blaming me for his death. I can't remember having a dream quite like this one before though, but it feels just as real as all the rest. Usually I'm running through city streets, or down a rural road, but never that I can remember, have I been running through the forest.

Everything in these dreams feel real, something's even more real than when I'm awake. But in here all I feel is fear, all I hear is him, and all I want is out! Out of this nightmare where guilt chokes me, and my screams for help don't even reach my own ears.

"Run! Run! Run!" His words have become an endless chant as the forest around me evolves into a desolate field. In here I'm not in control of my actions, so when my head starts to turn I know it's because there's something I need to see, but don't want to.

Chasing after me is a wolf, a huge, huge wolf. It would have to be over six foot, mostly white only with a slash of black running over the left side of its face and down one leg. This isn't the first time I've seen this wolf; he appears in many of my nightmares. The majority of the time he just chases me, telling me to "Run! Isn't that what you do best! Run!" Other times he changes into John, and starts to yell at me, that it's my fault. "It's all because of you, Ava. You did this to me!"

"But it's not my fault, it was just an accident, a sick, unfair accident," I try to tell him, but he never hears me or just doesn't listen.

I look back to where I'm running to see another wolf, this one I have never seen before – it has always just been the same one. This new wolf is the same size as the other, only this one is dark grey all over.

I fall, why I fall I don't understand; it's not like there's anything here to trip over. I land on my back and pain floods my body. I know that no harm has come to me but it feels so, so real.

Dark storm clouds start to cover the blue sky above me. As the wolves reach me, barely eight feet away on each side, they both leap into the air. They collide high above me. The new wolf, the grey one, must have been stronger, as they land on the side John's wolf left the ground.

My body screams in agony as I roll to my left and slowly start to pull myself away from the wolf fight. The voice in my head is still telling me to run, but it's getting quieter, more of a hiss to it. Though there's still a bite to the words that demand me to follow instruction.

Time here is endless so I don't know how long this lasts for, but it all stops with a loud yelp. The voice in my head stops, the fear and gut-wrenching pain vanishes from my body all in an instant.

This has never happened before… _What happens now? Shouldn't I be waking up_? I roll over and prop myself up on my elbows. The little pull that's always controlled my movements isn't there now.

The sight before me is gruesome but I'm not scared. The grey wolf stands wearily a few feet away from me, fresh blood dripping from its mouth. Looking beyond him I see the other wolf lying lifeless, blood turning his white fir a dark red. He's dead… he, the wolf/man that has been hunting my sleep for years… is… dead, dead.

I slowly look back to the other wolf; he's not trying to attack me like the other does. If anything I would say he's scared… of me? His large head slightly bowls down to me and…

I wake up.

 ** _#This chapter is the longest I've ever done for this story so hope that helps you forgive me for the long wait and hope it was worth the wait.#_**

 ** _#QUESTION: what date idea would you rather see..._**

 ** _A) Embry takes Ava to an expensive restaurant?_**

 ** _B)_** ** _They go to Embry's mother's diner for dinner?_**

 ** _C) Embry surprises Ava by taking her back to a place they camped as kids?_**

 ** _D) They go to the beach?_**

 ** _E) (your own idea) ..._**

 ** _#Thanks to everyone who left reviews, they really help me keep writing. Thanks for all the followers, that really helps me go back to this story but reviews do help me update sooner. Please take a second to review.#_**

 ** _#Shout out to Bellaisabitch (BTW I love the name) for leaving the review that finely got me writing again, sorry it took me so long but don't worry, I will never give up on this story or any of my others and really hope to have the next chapter posted a lot sooner then this was.#_**

 ** _#Please if your not following or have this story on your favourites list, do so. I can't believe how much love this story has gotten and cant wait to see how much it can get from you amazing people.#_**

 ** _#Thanks for reading, hope you have a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Have a nice day/ night#_**


	18. All I see is blackness

Chapter 17

 _Where is life leading me?_

That's a question I have asked myself many times. Should I keep going forward? Do I need to turn left up ahead and get off the main road, or just keep following the flow? My mind always wonders about things like these.

Months ago, I said that I didn't regret leaving La Push. I didn't regret coming back either. But now I wish I had never come back at all. I wish I had never knocked on that door so many months ago. I should have gone home, instead.

You probably want to know what happened? How much time has passed since we last spoke? Where am I? What is going on?

Well let me make a long story short.

Life was going great.

My first date with Embry was amazing. He took Chaska and me out to an old campsite, where we had spent many summers, back when we were kids. We made s'mores over a crackling fire and the clouds parted to show us the glittering stars above. It was simple, but it was simply beautiful and perfect.

Time seemed to slow down when it was just the three of us. In no time at all, we were meeting up again, whether it was for lunch or dinner. Sometimes, it was just Embry and I, while other times, Chaska joined us.

I never thought having a relationship and a child would be easy. But with Embry around, everything became just as easy as breathing.

We had shared our first kiss at the end of our first date alone. It had been a rainy night. Embry was driving me home from dinner, when his truck decided to break down. We were only a block away from his house, and it looked like the rain was letting up, so we decided just to run to his house. We laughed the entire way over, as rain soaked us and water splattered under our feet.

When we finally reached the stairs at his front porch, the rain had started up again, back with a vengeance. I was freezing, but still laughing.

As soon as Embry opened the door, he pulled me into the house. He flicked on the lights, brushed his soggy hair from his eyes, and gave me an odd look. "What's so funny?" He asked, smiling down at me.

"I used to dream of nights like these. The perfect date, with the perfect guy," I said between laughs as I shook my head at how stupid it sounded out loud.

"Oh yeah? What would your perfect guy do next?" He chuckled.

"He'd kiss me."

And then he kissed me - the first sweet kiss of many to follow.

After two months back home, I bought a house. It was nothing special. Just a place where Chaska and I could be alone. A roof over our heads to keep the rain out, and walls to keep the warmth in. Two bedrooms and a bath, nice and simple. I _wanted_ simple. I was done with complications.

I helped Leah plan her wedding. It was fun and exhausting at the same time.

Chaska started school (well, kindergarten anyways). The first day was the hardest for me, of course. Not for him. He had a world of fun, with a million story's to tell me after the first day. _I_ , on the other hand, was worried about him all day. I worried about whether the other kids would be nice to him, if he would play well with them, and other things like that. I had to call Embry to get him to tell me I was being paranoid and stupid.

He said exactly that. "You are paranoid and stupid... and kind, sweet, caring, cute, and the best mother a kid could ask for."

Sam and Emily had a baby the following month. Well, Emily had the baby. Sam just freaked out about it all. It was a baby boy. They named him Aaron. He reminded me a lot of when Chaska was a baby - cute and bubbly.

I was completely shocked when Sam asked me to be Aaron's godmother. I almost cried. Sam proceeded to say that I was like the little sister he never had. And then I actually did cry.

 _Happy times._

Back then, there were a lot of happy times. I know I say it like it was years ago, but really, Aaron was only four or five months old at this point. It wasn't that long ago.

You're still asking me what happened? Where I am? What is going on?

I wish I could tell you, but even I don't know.

One day, everything was still going perfectly, and the next, it wasn't, anymore.

I was on my way to pick Chaska up from school. Embry was supposed to come over in a few hours for dinner, and I was still trying to think of something I could cook. I wasn't paying enough attention to the road, and then something huge jumped out in front of my truck. I swerved onto the other side of the road to avoid it, but the road was wet, and when I tried to keep the truck on the road, I pulled the wheel too hard.

I remember screaming as the truck flipped onto its side, crashing through the safety railing and proceeded to roll off the road and down a twenty-meter slope, finally coming to a stop when it hooked onto some trees. My head was fuzzy, ears ringing and I could taste blood. Everything went black after that.

And when I woke up, everything was still black.

 _ **I'm so sorry how long it's been since this story was last updated. I promise you I didn't forget about it for a moment, I tried and tried and tried but I just couldn't write a date seen.**_

 _ **I didn't want to do this time skip so soon, but I'm hopeing it will help me write faster and got over this writers block. I may do flash backs in the future about some thing that happens in the time skip but idk yet.**_

 ** _The next person to follow this story will be number 100! I can't believe it, really when I started this story I didn't think it would go anywhere. But with your help and support I have kept going with this story and hope you are still enjoying it._**

 ** _What do you think will happen next? I would like to hear any ideas you may have._**

 ** _I hope to be updating sooner rather then later, but the more you review, the more time I will put into this story. But while you wait please go look at my other stories and let me know what you think._**

 ** _Hope you have a nice day/night!_**


	19. Missing in action

Chapter 18

Embry POV

I drove towards Ava's house, rain was coming down on my truck and I was thinking about what Ava had planned for tonight.

When I pulled up outside her house something didn't feel right. Her truck wasn't there. At first, I thought she was just picking Chaska up from school but when I looked at my watch, I saw it was well past pick up time. She must have had to go shopping for dinner, that had to be it.

Then my phone started ringing.

"Embry speaking."

"Hi Embry, it's Mrs Wilson here calling from the primary school-"

"Is everything okay?"

"I'm calling to see if you know where Ava is, she hasn't picked up Chaska yet. And she isn't answering her phone."

"What? I...umm… her car's not at her house, she must of got held up somewhere. I'm leaving her house now, I'll be there to pick him up in a few minutes," I assured her.

"Okay thank you, see you soon."

I had a bad feeling, a really bad feeling. I tried to call Ava but all I get was her message bank. I felt sick. She always answered her phone, why wasn't she answering her phone.

I had gotten to the school by the time I tried calling her a third time. Mrs Wilson, a lady in her fifty's with short grey hair and pale skin, was wanting outside the school doors, Chaska standing next to her with his small red school bag in hand. The phone call rang out and I was sent to her message bank again.

I got out of the car and tried my hardest to smile. Chaska gave me a smile in reply but Mrs Wilson didn't seem convinced.

"Thanks for calling me," I said as I reached the pair.

"No problem, I assume Ava just got held up somewhere?"

"Yeah she must have lost track of time." I didn't believe my own words, Ava was never late. "Hey buddy how was school?" I asked Chaska as the teacher said a quick goodbye and went back into the school.

"Good, I got a student of the week award and Joel invited me to his birthday party next weekend," Chaska seemed happy, completely unaware his mother was currently MIA.

"Oh cool, cool. Hey did your mum mention having to go anywhere today?" I asked as calmly as possible.

"No... she said you were coming over for dinner. Can we play Uno?" He seemed unaware I was freaking out.

I took him home, half expecting Ava's car to be waiting there. But the front of the house was empty. Maybe she left her phone inside and went shopping, that would explain why she wasn't answering and didn't know the time.

Chaska got out of the truck and ran instead like normal, I followed after him closely. Already calling Ava's phone again, listening out for her ring tone.

I waited, and waited, and waited. But the only sound in the house was Chaska running to his room. Even if the phone was on vibrate my ears would have picked up on the sound.

I was overreacting. The pack kept telling me I was too protective, there could be a million reasons why Ava wasn't answering her phone. So I waited. I made Chaska a sandwich and we sat and watched a cartoon. I waited till dark. Ava still hadn't come home, she still hadn't called.

I then called Sam and he told me he would be here soon with the pack but there was something off about his voice. As I waited I paced the room. I heard someone walking up to the house a few minutes latter. I went to open the door and found Jake waiting on the other side.

"Embry can you please come outside for a moment?" Jake asked, his face was hard and eyes didn't give anything away.

"What is it?" I asked stepping outside and shutting the door behind him.

"Seth found Ava's truck-" Jacob began but I quickly cut him off.

"Thank god, where is she?" I looked around, almost expecting her to appear from thin air.

"She wasn't with her truck," Jacob continued. "He found it down an embankment, looked like she crashed a few hours ago." My heart stopped, I wasn't breathing. "She wasn't in the truck Embry."

"She's in the hospital then," I say. Where else could she be after a car crash?

"We checked, she's not, no one even knew the truck had crashed."

"How long have you known this Jake?" I asked and saw guilt in his eyes.

"Seth found the truck around two hours ago-"

"Two hours!" I yelled. I was shaking now. They know she was missing and most likely hurt for two hours and didn't tell me.

...

Ava POV

He stood before me, a beast, worse than the one that used to chase me in my nightmares. He was larger then any creature I had ever seen, a beast wrapped in dark fur, his eyes black.

There was a fire in the corner of the cave now, I must have passed out, or fell asleep -like that would be possible- or the fire just appeared out of no where.

Now with the light from the fire I could see I was in a cave, it wasn't very wide but looked long. I couldn't see my natural light and it was very cold in here. My jumper was only thin, I hadn't planed on being outside for long.

I kept going over the facts in my head. I saw a beast, I crashed, I woke up cold, a fire appeared, the beast returned. Maybe I was just in hospital, unconscious from the car crash, this is all a dream. It felt so real though.

I closed my eyes. I was shaking, it was hard to breath and I could feel was tears staring to run down my face.

There was sound of movement, it was getting closer.

I tried to think of a happy place where I'm with Chaska and Embry, where my brother and sister are, my mother and friends. I could almost hear the ocean, imagining the day we all spent at beach last month. I swear I could smell the ocean air as I imagined everyone's faces, smiling and happy.

"Please don't cry," I gulped at the sound of the familiar voice.

This can't be real. It just can't.

 ** _AN: I know I haven't updated in ages! So sorrrry! Literally had writers block this whole time and only wrote this in the last week. Hope it's ok, will be trying to update a lot sooner. If you like it and want me to update ASAP please leave a review every word helps me keep trying._**

 ** _Hope you have a good night/ day._**


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